The Johto War
by Ballgurl97
Summary: In the time when espeon and umbreon were at war, an abused espeon and a misjudged umbreon prince develop a secret friendship, affecting not only their own lives but even the lives of the ones around them. Espeon and Umbreon. Nightlightshipping.
1. The East Side

_Es….feee…._

Ricky Black giggled as she watched her father sleep, his snores loud and amusing.

_Es….feee…._

The espeon rolled her blue scleras at him, in the fair fact that he did this all the time. He would send his sixteen year old daughter out to the orchard to retrieve apples for the family to snack on when they had nothing else. She always did as her father told, and the trip always lasted around fifteen minutes.

Her father would wait by the entrance to the den, waiting for his daughter's arrival. He would get bored easily in time under five minutes, lying down and getting comfortable as the waiting process was in motion.

Like now.

He was fast asleep at the entrance of the den, Ricky unable to go any further in risk of stepping on her father.

She giggled again to herself, knowing she would have to wake him up.

Sighing, she released the apple basket that hung from her fork split tail to the ground behind her, in order not to drop it.

Her small, lavender paws found their way to her father's lime-green shoulders. She shook gently, whispering "Dad, wake up."

"Huh…Wha-?" The shiny espeon mumbled, shifting in his sleep.

"Come on sleepyhead," Ricky chuckled, retrieving her paws and lowering her head as to where her cat-like nose met his. "I got the apples, dad."

Tensing back a little from the sudden wake, her father's eyes blinked rapidly, seeing blurred shapes of lavender in his sight.

"R-Ricky?" He asked, half asleep. His vision slowly drowned back into his mindset, as he finally was able to identify it was his daughter he saw.

"Have a good nap?" Ricky sneaked a smile, playing with her dad.

Standing up and allowing himself to stretch, a blush found its way across his face. "Oh," He stuttered, "Oops…I guess I fell asleep…again."

The blue-eyed girl cocked a brow, "You guess?" He didn't respond as his daughter made her way past him, the basket back in her possession shortly before being placed in its usually spot in the den's family room/kitchen.

As the shiny espeon began to try and wake up a bit more, his daughter examined the room, seeing the two espeon were the only two there. "Where are Rachel and Brandon?" Rachel was Ricky's step-mother, and the mother of the teenage espeon's half-brother Brandon, an eevee.

"Your brother went to Jason's a minute or two after you left, while Rachel went to Arceus knows where."

The younger eeveelution frowned, tilting her head to the side. Her step-mother was always leaving the den, and for no reason at all. It wasn't to say that Ricky didn't _enjoy_ the time when her step-mother left the house.

Her father's new mate abused Ricky: emotionally, physically, and verbally.

She would always get her alone at the times life looked bright for the teenager, telling her how weak and stupid she was. How she was a fool and crybaby about her mother's death. When Ricky didn't do as Rachel instructed she would be hit, scratched, bitten. The young girl would never fight back; in fear of Rachel telling her shiny espeon father that Ricky had been the one to attack.

Just the pure thought of Rachel left Ricky shivering, feeling defenseless as she was always told.

"What's wrong Rick?" Her father asked, coming to her side as he used her nickname. 'Rick' was a joke nickname Ricky actually agreed too. Her father always thought it was coincidental that his name was Nick, rather close to Ricky. Calling her Rick had been a slip-up by Ricky's mother before she died, and the shiny espeon used it since. The real truth was his first child's name had been a mix of his dead mate Rose's name and his own name.

Warmth filled the lavender Pokémon's body, the presence of her father bringing comfort to her. She hated to say this, since she actually really liked her half-brother Brandon, but she loved the times when it was just her and her dad. He was the only piece of blood family she even had left; her mother and all grandparents had passed, not to mention the fact that both her parents were also only children.

"Nothing dad," Ricky tried to reassure, giving off a big, fake smile to her dad.

His blue scleras met hers with amusement. He was certain she wasn't telling the truth, and if Ricky was anything like her mother, the truth wasn't coming anytime soon.

"If you say so," Nick rolled his eyes, eyeing an apple in the basket close by. "How about we eat some apples, it always cheered me up!"

Ricky chuckled as her father made his way to the basket, leaving her side. "That's because you love to eat dad."

Two apples now held closely in the grasp of his tail, the shiny espeon turned to face his daughter. His eyes scanned his own self up and down, indicating his healthy and fit shape. "I love to eat _apples_, Rick."

Despite not giving him an answer, the adult still handed his daughter an apple anyways, winking at her before quickly starting on his own apple.

The blue-eyed espeon smiled appreciatively to her father, before deciding to start on her fruit as well.

As she took a bite out of the red, ripe fruit, sweet juices filled her mouth. She could see how eating apples could calm her father down, although eating too many apples gave her a toothache.

"So dad," Ricky spoke up after gulping down a bit of apple, "Is it alright if I go out after I finish?"

Nick smiled; he never went a day without hearing his daughter ask this question. "Sure you can, sweetie."

She grinned at her dad gratefully again, taking more, and quicker, bites of her small fruit. Her father's blue scleras watched her in amusement, taking a break from eating his just to watch.

As she took the last few bites of her apple, Ricky reached the core bits. All that was left was the core and the harder part of the apple she always refused to eat.

As she looked at her father, her cheeks turn a slight red color as she saw him watching her humorously.

"You think that's funny, do you?"

"I do."

"Brat," Ricky joked, placing her paw on his cheek and pushing his face away. While she had the time, she ran out of the den, sweeping right past her father. "Bye dad!"

"Bye Ricky," Her father chuckled quietly to himself, watching as his daughter left the den excitedly.

As she made her way out, she entered the calm, soothing breeze she had been enveloped in earlier. To her right, she heard the commotions of her neighbor Jacob and half-brother Brandon as they played around.

More of her interests, however, were to the left. Down the path that led her to the same place she found herself at every day, the only espeon who visited there…now.

She didn't need thinking twice, her paws moving themselves along the path, leading her father and farther from her home. The walk to her destination usually took about ten minutes to reach, not enough time for her at times.

"Well I'll be," A familiar voice stopped her in her tracks, "If it ain't little old Ricky."

She froze, slowly drifting her head over to where the sound had emanated.

It was exactly who she thought it was.

That corny smile, wild lilac eyes and out of control hair that never seemed to be tamed. There was no doubt this was Dillon, an espeon friend she had grown to love.

"Dillon!" Ricky cheered, finding herself hugging him in seconds. She hadn't seen him, nor her others friends in _weeks_, not since the defense class.

Ricky had taken the defense class a few months back, where she met four of her closest friends to date. Wanda, the crazy, psychotic espeon everyone just had to love. Wanda had also dragged her intelligent, rather serious boyfriend Mitch along so she wouldn't be alone in the class. In every group there just had to be that shy one who didn't talk much, like Brooklyn. Brooklyn was the youngest of the group, and three years back she came very close to being raped, the main reason she took a defense class. Then there was Dillon, the wild, headfirst male who had no patience, whatsoever.

"I haven't seen you in forever," Dillon stole the words right out of Ricky's mind as they ceased from their hug.

"Same here, what're you doing down around here?" Ricky asked, completely forgetting about where she had been going off too earlier.

Dillon flashed a smile, "I was coming to find you."

The blue-eyed female blushed. Sure, Dillon was just like a brother to her, but at times she had her doubts if that was truly the way she even felt.

"Why?" She asked, hopeful.

"I'll show ya!" Dillon winked, his tail latching on to Ricky's. He nodded to her before the two broke off into a run together, Ricky following the male espeon the best she could.

"Where are we going?" Ricky giggled, still curious to know what would become.

Instead of responding, the older boy just winked at her, continuing to lead them to wherever.

She rolled her blue scleras, just giving in and waiting to find out.

Sure enough, though, she did.

Dillon stopped as he turned the last sharp curve, watching as Ricky took in the view.

She first saw a waterfall, leading to a fair pool of water below that leaked into a stream that probably lead to the ocean nearby. The grass was luscious green, the towering trees giving room for an open space.

Not being able to wait any longer, Dillon used his tail to guide Ricky's eyes to the _real_ surprise.

The only thing she missed, as she had known seen, were the three espeon sitting there, smiling at their friend's fresh presence.

As her eyes lay upon the two lavender espeon and lime-green one, her excitement level shot even further. She left from Dillon's side, running as fast as she could to the three.

"Ricky!" The middle one cheered, running forwards to meet her friends hug.

Ricky met the hug in no time, "Wanda!"

The hug didn't last all too long, as she glanced over and saw the rather close male espeon to the one she had just hugged. "Mitch!" A similar hug was repeated, the happy teenager quickly embracing her other friend. Doing the same for a third time, as she spotted Brooklyn; calling out to her and giving her a hug before quickly retracting.

Dillon joined Ricky's side now, as the female stepped back to look at all of her friends. "W-what's going on here?"

"Ah, you know. Just chilling." Wanda grinned, her navy eyes beaming with excitement. Like many other Pokémon, Wanda wore at least one accessory. Hers was a sun yellow bow on her left ear. She was actually the only one in the group who even wore anything; she was the odd one out, anyways.

Ricky didn't even want to respond to what Wanda said, instead bringing out another off subject statement. "It's so great to see you guys again!"

"Indeed it is." Mitch, the oldest of the five, nodded, shifting himself closer to his girlfriend.

"Since us four live close to each other we planned to arrange some sort of meeting to see you again," A quiet voice emanated from Brooklyn, smiling sweetly.

"Really?" Ricky asked, astonished, as she received nods from the other four espeon. "You guys would do that?"

"All best friends would!" Dillon laughed from beside her, adding in on the smiles.

The blue-eyed espeon smiled wholeheartedly back to her friends. "Thanks, you guys are the best. It's great to see you again…"

"You too." Wanda responded happily.

Ricky gave one last smile, before leaving the circle and making her way to the water. Leaning over the edge of the deeper water, she ran her paw through the clear liquid. She smiled to herself, happy.

"You want to swim?" Wanda asked, not even hesitating as she jumped right into the water, splashing Ricky with slight drops.

Ricky chuckled at Wanda, shaking her head, "I'll pass."

"Come on, Ricky," Mitch said, climbing in more carefully than his girlfriend had, "It's safe!"

She rolled her eyes, "I know it's safe, Mitch."

"Meh, suit yourself," The oldest espeon shrugged, floating on his back across the water. He would always do tricky things like this just to enthuse Wanda, he watched him in excitement and wonder.

Brooklyn, who also didn't want to swim, sat beside Ricky as the two watched the couple splash each other. "It's great to see you again, Ricky."

"You as well, Brooklyn," The kind female replied, "How have you been?"

"Been great!" Brooklyn cheered, giggling. "What about you?"

"Just as great," The espeon's smile faded as Rachel crossed her mind, "…Sometimes."

The shiny espeon didn't even have to ask why the sudden change in mood, too close to the other espeon to _not_ know what she meant. "I'm sorry Ricky…"

"Nah, it's not your fault," Ricky gave a quick, reassuring smile, not wanting her friend to feel sorry for her. She hated to see others in a negative mood, especially seeing others hurt really got to her. After her mother's death any pain that was caused to someone else always made her gloomy.

Before Brooklyn could respond, something from behind pushed Ricky into the cold, clean water. She was underwater for only a few seconds, as what had just happened processed through her mind. The only one who could've done that was the one she didn't see the whole time before it happened.

"_Dillon…" _The name administered through her mind, as she pushed herself back up to the surface of the water.

The sound of laughing filled her ears, the first one she saw beside Brooklyn being Dillon, standing where she herself had previously been sitting.

Growling quietly, she pushed herself through the water over to the bank where Dillon stood, still laughing.

Great, he wouldn't suspect it.

She smiled humorously as she reached up and grabbed his legs, pulling him in the water with her. Even though she was such a small female, you shouldn't let size deceive you with Ricky. She infact was strong enough to pull Dillon in as soon as she latched on to him, the two crumbling back into the water.

The two both resurfaced quickly, their eyes locked.

"Oh, it's on now, espeon."

oOoOo

"Well, I have to say," Ricky paused, "That was a _very_ fun day."

Wanda nodded, "Of course! It would be great if we could hang out like this more…"

It was as if Ricky had turned into Mitch for a split second, and idea seeming to wrap around her mind. She didn't know if it was even a good idea, she just had to urge to tell her friends anyway.

"What if we did?" She asked, catching all of her friends' attention.

Mitch, proud of her smart idea, was the first to speak. "That is a great idea, Ricky."

"Of course it is!" Wanda cheered, coming up with a plan of her own. "How about we find some days we're usually free on, and meet here those days?"

Ricky found a negative outcome on the idea quickly, "But wouldn't you guys take longer to get here?"

The lavender female quickly waved her paw in Ricky's face, chuckling. "Don't worry about that Ricky! Now, everyone, what days are we free on?"

"We usually only do stuff on weekends," Dillon shrugged, referring to his family.

"Us too," Brooklyn added in.

"Same with my family, unless something important comes up," Was Ricky's answer.

"Then it's settled!" The happy-go-lucky espeon clasped her paws together, "Mitch and I are usually free on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. So how about we meet here? Every Tuesday, every Thursday. Unless, of course, something comes up."

"Sounds like a plan!" Dillon flashed a smile, clearly excited about the arrangement.

"Then it's settled," Wanda grinned, "Every Tuesday and Thursday, here at twelve."

Mitch nodded, "I'll be there. Now Wanda I promised your parents I would have you home before six, so we need to be getting home now, alright?"

The navy-eyed espeon nodded, her and Mitch bidding goodbye to their friends before departing, tail in tail.

Dillon turned to Ricky, "This means Brooklyn and I need to be going too. Bye Ricky, I'll see you Tuesday." Ricky received one last hug from Brooklyn and Dillon, before they also faced their departure as well. Dillon _always_ walked Brooklyn home. One because they lived on the same block and two because he was afraid something would happen to his new friend, considering her inability to stand up and fight for herself.

Unlike her friends, however, Ricky didn't need to be home anytime soon. Her father always said for her to be home before nine, which she always was anyways.

She still had to go where she planned in the first place, anyways.

Before she turned, she gave one last smile to this new place, before going on her way. Back down the way her and Dillon had ran that way together, all the way back to the path she had originally set to follow for that day.

She was shocked at how short of time it took just to get back to that path. When she had gone that way with Dillon her interest to know what the surprise was probably affected how she felt about the time. This time she didn't want to leave, making the time to get away much faster.

Sighing, she continued on to her original destination, looking forward to spend time at the peaceful place. She hadn't had much rest that day, and rest was always easy to find at this certain place.

The beach water slowly drifted into her senses, causing her footing to become faster. She was getting closer, and she knew it.

In as little as a minute her paws dug into warm, grains of sand. She stopped to take in a deep breath, of the sand, of the salty water, of the air. This place had to be her favorite place in the whole world. She had no close friend to share it with, really, but she still had plenty of fun by herself.

Seeing the sunset shine on the ocean in the distance was all it took. She lay down under the shadowing oak tree she always would, her eyes watching every wave the ocean sent to the beach.

Unknowingly, her head slipped on her paws below, her eyes slowing shutting.

"_Just stay awake; it's okay to rest your eyes…" _Her thoughts warned her, _"Just don't fall asleep and you're fine…"_

She, however, wanted otherwise. She was warm, comfortable; nothing could stop her from just having a short little catnap. Could it hurt?


	2. The West Side

A young adult umbreon crouched down in the brush, focused and still. His posture seemed cool, if a bit odd. His red eyes were set dead on a figure walking unknowingly by.

The target was younger, in his teenage years. His body had the same features as the older umbreon did, but with gray fur and blue rings. He had golden eyes, eyes that were scanning the unusually quiet silence. The older male had been planning to scare the shiny umbreon all day, and now was his chance…

"Gotcha!" The hunter cried out, pouncing from his hiding spot in the brush. Instead of making contact with his target, he fell on the ground pathetically, getting a face full of dirt.

The shiny umbreon, who had moved out of the way when he had noticed his attacker, smirked. "Oh and mom and dad want _you_ to be the next alpha."

The other umbreon quickly stood himself back up, shaking some off the dirt off and narrowing his eyes. "That's because mommy and daddy don't want their wittle Thomas getting hurt from the dangers of the world." The umbreon retorted in a baby voice.

"I told you!" The younger umbreon snapped, "Call me _Blue_!"

"Whoa! Calm down there little brother!" The normal umbreon replied, his paw in his little brothers face. He laughed hysterically as the shiny umbreon pushed his paw away, giving him a rude look.

"Just leave me alone, Danny…" Blue mumbled, attempting to walk away from his brother. He heard his older brother Danny call something back out to him, but he completely ignored it and kept walking away.

He followed the curved path that led up to the most known area in all the umbreon territory: the alpha's cave. In the umbreon tribe, they lived in caves, not in underground dens like the espeons did.

So why was this lone teenager going to the alpha's home?

Because his parents _were_ the alphas.

This made him prince.

His mother, Queen Taylor, was the heir to the throne after her father. She had the royalty in her blood, but her mate, however, was opposite. King Rocky was a peasant, but still a best friend to Taylor. He was there for her when her mother died and the princess had to step up and help her father run the kingdom, all the way even to when the king soon died himself. They were friends before their evolution, closer than ever. A few months after Taylor was struggling as the new queen, he confessed his love to her. She had felt the same way the whole time, and they began dating. Not many approved of the fact that a peasant and young queen had begun dating, nor did they like it when the peasant became their king. They soon began to approve of it, since the two were a spectacular pick to run the territory. A year after announcing themselves as mates, they had their first son: Daniel. Two years later they had their second and last son, Thomas. Thomas never really enjoyed his name, or the fact that he was _second_ in line to the throne. When he evolved he started going by Blue, due to the fact that he was a shiny umbreon and featured blue rings.

"Blue!" A feminine voice called to the shiny umbreon, who had just made his way home. His golden eyes perked up to see a normal umbreon walking his way, her red eyes fierce. "_Where _is your brother?"

Her upset tone didn't surprise the navy-gray fox at all. His older brother was always causing mayhem around the family and got in trouble frequently. This was one of the reasons Blue thought he was better suited for the next heir, since he was more capable of responsibility and had shown many signs of leadership.

It brought _great_ joy to Blue that his brother was about to be in trouble, pointing his mother in the direction he had come. "I'm sure I saw him somewhere back that way just minutes ago."

His mother quickly thanked him, before running off that way. The teenaged shiny laughed to himself as he thought of the punishment Danny would receive this time…

"Blue!" The male's name was called again, his snout pointing in the direction the voice had emanated from. He made eye contact with red eyes, which were attached to a younger female umbreon waving at him. Beside her was an older male umbreon, who was also waving to Blue.

The shiny umbreon smiled as he saw them: these were his best friend Elizabeth and Colton. Both of their parents were good friends of Queen Taylor and King Rocky.

"What are you guys doing here?" He grinned, trotting towards them.

Colton, the male umbreon, was first to answer. "Ah, you know. Mom and dad decided to drop by." The smile dropped off of his face for a moment before he continued. "Carly's here, too."

The shiny umbreon frowned as well. Carly was Colton's annoying older sister. She was twenty, the same age of Blue's older brother Danny, who just so happened to be her boyfriend. Her seventeen year old brother Colton and his friends couldn't stand her, especially since she was betrothed to Danny, making this pair the future alphas. To the three teenagers, they were a horrible future pick for running the umbreon territory.

"Great, thought Danny was bad enough today but I guess I was wrong…" The shiny umbreon rolled his eyes, shifting his glance over to Elizabeth. "So, how is being sixteen going for you?" Last Saturday, Elizabeth had turned sixteen, and was the youngest of the three. Colton would turn eighteen in just a few weeks, and Blue in about a month.

Elizabeth grinned, "It's been doing great! I can't believe you guys are already close to being adults, though."

Colton and Blue met glances, flashing a smile at each other. In unison, both replied "Us either."

"I'm going to feel like a little kid with you guys…" Elizabeth whispered. "It will be so awkward…"

Colton put his arm around her, "Aww, Lizzy. If it's any consolation…you already are awkward and a little kid."

Elizabeth cocked her brow at her not so serious friend, pushing his face away with her paw. "You're an idiot."

The older male stuck his tongue out, "Are not. You are."

"You two," Blue cut in, "_Please_ don't start this again."

Colton had his mouth open to respond to his friend, but instead a female's voice sounded nearby. "Now you go up there and pick up your room!"

Blue, which was facing opposite of where the noise had come from, was oblivious to the fact it was his mother who had spoken. It wasn't Colton, who he was still looking at oddly.

He didn't find out it was his mother till his two best friends pointed behind him, to where the queen was pulling her eldest son by his ear back up to the path.

The umbreon trio, as usual, watched in amusement.

"But mom…" Danny whined. He was well aware his girlfriend was there and was afraid his mother would embarrass him in front of her.

The irritated mother scowled, "Don't _but_ me! After your girlfriend leaves I better see you get up there in that room and do some cleaning!"

Danny rolled his eyes, which didn't go unnoticed by his mother.

"Daniel James Carter!" Queen Taylor growled quietly, indicating she just wasn't in the mood today. Her red eyes met her sons. "You better do as you're told…or I swear to Arceus…"

The alpha stopped her sentence, her eyes still in contact with Danny's. "Just do what I say, alright?"

"Yes ma'am…" Danny lowered his head, his brother and friends snickering at him from nearby.

The umbreon mother smiled, hugging her son as an apology for losing her temper. While embracing his mother, Danny's eyes were narrowed at his brother nearby, who was still laughing at his brother uncontrollably.

As the hug broke, Taylor smiled at her son, before they proceeded to enter the cave. As they walked by the youngest prince, Danny still had his eyes locked on the three, eyes narrowed as if saying he would get them back later.

"Man, he's going to kill you." Colton pointed out, watching as Carly ran to hug her boyfriend as he entered the cave.

The shiny umbreon shook his head, "I know, but I'll still kick his butt before he can."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, "How about we get off this talk, and have a race? Colton and I were talking about it while waiting for you, and besides-" Elizabeth met Colton's glance "-I want to destroy him."

The oldest umbreon tilted his head to the side, "You really think that? Because I think I will destroy you!"

"Oh yea?" Elizabeth chuckled, "Then let's race. Come on, Blue!"

Elizabeth and Colton raced over to their usual "starting line", leaving Blue sitting in his spot from before. "I didn't even say I would race, though!"

"Well you better!" Elizabeth responded. "I want to destroy you too!"

The shiny umbreon chuckled, trotting his way beside them. "Alright, so we do the usual?'

Receiving nods from both his friends, Blue got into the running position with his friends. "The usual" was a race that went around smelly Pete's shop, around the playground, and then back up to the alpha cave where it all started.

"Okay," Elizabeth looked too both of the boys, "Ready?"

Both nodded, a focused look on their faces, waiting for the call.

"And…" Elizabeth paused, focusing herself, "Go!"

All three broke off into a run, Colton being first to go. Seeing as he was ahead in the early start, he laughed, looking back at Elizabeth in amusement. She didn't become fazed at all, her stride becoming longer and faster, catching her back up to Colton. Colton's mouth opened slightly as she made her way beside him, eyes locked. She returned the laugh this time, as she began to take the lead instead.

Blue watched his friends from behind, going slower than they were. Unlike Colton and Elizabeth, Blue had a different strategy when it came to racing. His two friends would always go as fast as they could in the beginning, soon they would get tired out and go slower. Blue would usually go slow until he was close to the finish point, when he would break out into his fastest sprint. Sometimes he won using this strategy, but sometimes he lost. He still used it no matter what, partly because he didn't want to get in-between his friends when they were racing: they could become very competitive.

So his strategy went into plan, his friends soon getting farther ahead down the path and unseen to him behind the trees. Their sounds of mocking laughter and competitive threats soon disappeared within the wind. He was now enveloped in silence.

He quietly jogged on, until he soon came across smelly Pete's shop.

They called him smelly Pete not because _he_ smelled bad, but because his breath would always smell vile for some strange reason.

"_I wonder how far ahead Colton and Lizzy have gotten…"_ Blue wondered to himself, looking to the area past the shop. As his thoughts brought him out of focus, he turned the curve around the shop, oblivious to the fact of the mud awaiting him.

It had rained the day before, as Blue had also forgotten. So as he never slowed upon approaching the turn, he slipped. He slid over in the brush a few feet over, leaving the path of the racing trail.

As his sliding came to a halt, he picked himself back up, trying his best to brush the mud off of him.

Then, he smelled it.

The salty smell he had never smelt before, coming just behind him. He looked over his shoulder into the unknown wilderness the smell was emanating from. Maybe he never noticed this because he never came around to smelly Pete's shop all too much.

He tilted his head, looking back from the shop to the new trail behind him.

His loyalties to his tribe were being tested; this could lead to the espeon territory.

He took the chance.

Blue turned, facing the unknown path now. He looked over his shoulder, making sure no one was watching. To his luck, no one was around, not even Pete it seemed.

He began walking down the path, following the salty scent.

In just minutes, a new sense was brought to him. He could hear this odd sound off in the distance, sounding like something washing over another substance.

The smell and the sound became stronger, Blue finding himself closer and closer to his new destination. Ahead he could see a stop in the path, surely this was it.

He hurried his way over, stepping out past the brush.

Navy-gray paws dug into sandy beige grain, filling Blue's body with warmth and comfort. He had never felt this feeling before.

Golden eyes scanned the new area, meeting a wide, sandy beach, surrounded by the forest that separated the two territories, and a never ending ocean. The salty smell was what emanated from the ocean. The noise Blue had heard had been the sound of the ocean water washing up on the sand, then sucking it back in.

A smile crept on his face, enjoying the vista of this new place. He could get used to this.

It looked safe, so he decided to investigate. He walked around the edge of the forest and beach, golden-eyes mainly focused on the beach water. He was so enthused by the way it pushed and pulled, that he couldn't find a way to take his eyes off of it.

He had never been to a place like this before, mainly because his parents never had time. Being the alphas of the territory, they spent a lot of time taking care of the territory. They had to talk to the umbreon fighters, to make sure the territory had plans to stay fully protected. They had to keep the laws up and running and keep crime out the best they could. They never had time to spend with their sons like they used too, they never even had the chance to take them anywhere. Danny and Blue barely learned anything from their parents; they barely even knew how to fight correctly. What if they needed to protect themselves? This was the downside to being the children of the alphas.

"Whoa!" Blue cried, as he suddenly tripped over something his eyes hadn't detected earlier. He fell backwards on the ground, quickly picking himself up afterwards.

He couldn't believe what he saw.

Golden eyes rested on a lavender figure once curled up on the ground, which was now fully awaken, blue scleras staring back.

_She_ couldn't believe what _she_ saw.

The espeon jumped up quickly, arching her back and getting into a defensive stance. She bared teeth to try and prove dominance, pupiless orbs now deadlocked on the shiny umbreon in front of her.

Blue noticed how focused she was, how her posture seemed incredibly close to perfect. She had been taught much more than he had. Although he had the type advantage, it seemed she had the strength advantage.

A low growl emanated from the espeon's chest, her eyes narrowing at Blue.

The shiny umbreon snapped out of his stare, thoughts flooding his mind that told him he was now in danger. He had to protect himself somehow.

He tried his best to copy her posture, doing quite well. Although he didn't bare his teeth like she did, his eyes were now locked with hers.

Golden irises stared into blue scleras, waiting for the fight till death.


	3. One Thing Changes Everything

Golden irises and blue scleras were deadlocked on each other; a forked tail was swishing back and forth behind the lavender cat, her back arched to try and make herself look larger to intimidate the umbreon opposite her. Said navy-gray fox was in a stiff position, his ears and tail were straight up, and he was a lot lower than she was to the ground, the hairs on the back of his neck sticking up.

Ricky kept mumbling things to herself, which was frustrating Blue just to know. He slowly hesitated taking a step towards her, which made her mumbling stop, as she looked up at him. Her expression at first was fear, but in seconds most of it was washed away with focus again. Blue was braver in the action of stepping forward again, the espeon opposite him taking two steps back.

Blue smirked at the nervous look on Ricky's face. Sure, he was just as nervous as her, but she was the only one showing it. Her blue scleras watching his every move, feeling a growl rise in her chest as she saw the shiny umbreon's slight smirk.

The shiny male took another step forward, this time to have the female jump quickly to her right. He was confused at first, but shook it off, changing his course and taking a step to the left towards her. Before he could even put his paw down on the warm, soft sand, she had already hopped back over to her left. Blue just glared over at her, tilting his head as he studied her. Her body was still low to the ground, the hair on the back of her neck prickling up; the fork split tail swishing back and forth as his nerves began to crack…

"Good Arceus!" He shouted, "Would you stop that?"

Ricky didn't even regret it when she mocked his smirk from before, laughing to herself on the inside. This got the better of Blue, the growl in his chest slowly creeping out for her to hear. In an instant he had crouched and pushed himself off the ground towards the espeon to attack, but in quicker speed than himself she had moved to the right again.

As she did a gray and blue blur hit the ground, sand slightly spraying around the figure as it did. The same thing that had happened to Blue's brother earlier, was it karma maybe?

Blue was quick to get up however, cautious since he was down. The espeon could attack him easily while on the ground.

As soon as he was straight up on his feet he looked at espeon. She was staring at him while he was on the ground, did he sense some bit of worry from her?

No, she was the enemy, she wouldn't care for him.

Although he didn't know it, Ricky was afraid he was hurt, although she _knew _he was the enemy. As she looked at him, she got lost in his golden, handsome eyes. He locked on in the gaze as well, staring into her blue scleras.

Ricky had never seen eyes as magnificent as his, it fit well with his gray fur, as well as the bright blue rings.

Blue wondered how her eyes we yet so beautiful, even without the black pupils most Pokémon had. They seemed to fit in with her fur and the jewel on her forehead, almost as if they were all one color; but they weren't, which made her elegance prove itself even greater.

The moment seemed blissful for the two, the soft beach breeze blew soothingly on their fur, making Ricky's longer fur blow all around her. There seemed to be barely any expression on either's face, they both seemed exceedingly calm. Something about looking in the other's eyes just made a funny feeling in each Pokémon's stomachs.

The gaze lasted only for about ten seconds, but Ricky and Blue both felt as if several minutes had passed by, being lost in each other's eyes. The contact broke when something behind Blue made Ricky glance at it, causing Blue to fall out of it, the focus being brought back across his face. He opened his mouth slightly, and then put all the power he could towards making a shadow ball that quickly began forming out of his mouth. In mere seconds it was full size as he shot it at the espeon.

Ricky saw it coming in time, and dodged, the dark ball barely brushing past her side. She shot a dirty look to Blue, whose mouth was slightly agape by how quickly and flawless she was moving.

"_She's fast, faster than many umbreon's I even know," _Blue thought to himself, but was stopped as the espeon shot her own shadow ball at him, hitting him right in the chest. Blue was blown back by the incredulous power of it, stopping as his back crashed into a tree. He fell back onto the sand, struggling to pull himself up.

When his four legs were straight up on the ground again, he growled at Ricky, ready to attack. His tail grew silver and heavy, as he ran towards the espeon with great speed and threw an iron tail at her.

Yet again, she dodged it with pure talent, the iron tail only making contact with the beach sand. Blue growled, quickly turning and using one of his favorite starter moves, quick attack. He went even faster than before, but it wasn't fast enough as Ricky's eyes light up aqua blue as she used psychic on a stick lying across the beach. When Blue was just inches away from her, she moved quickly to the left and used the rest of her psychic counter to put the stick in front on Blue, as his front legs made contact with it and he went face first in the sand.

This time, Blue didn't even know if he could get back up, every time he struggled to push himself up he went right back down. He could feel his eyes get hot as the tears began to well up inside. He had just lost, even with a type advantage. He couldn't get up, and the espeon being the enemy would probably finish him off. He put his face back in the warm sand, waiting for whatever move she would use to end his life.

However, after a few seconds, nothing happened.

Blue picked his head up to look at Ricky, who was standing some feet away, staring at him with worry.

"Are you okay?" The soft voice spoke up, sounding like an angel to Blue. She cautiously came to his side, examining the wounds. He had a cut on his nose and his chest and back looked bloody from her counter shadow ball from before. She shook her head as she saw this, "Oh no what have I done…" Ricky told herself, her blue scleras looking into the golden ones again.

"I won't hurt you; you have to tell me if you feel anything?" She asked him, trying to keep calm. Blue was reluctant to answer her, but she was his only lifeline at this moment, it was now or never.

"I can't feel anything, but my back hurts a little," He spoke up quietly, causing Ricky to frown.

"Is it okay if I just-?" She asked, moving her paw close to his wounds, asking for permission if she could touch them to see if anything was serious.

"Yeah, just not too hard," The shiny umbreon said quietly, not wanting to speak up. Ricky nodded to him, and gently placed her right paw on his back, bright red blood soaking her paw. It stung a little too Blue, trying his best to get over it as she had to put a bit of pressure to feel his bones.

Ricky moved her left paw up to the back of his head, and then put her right on his chest. She was surprised to find it wasn't as severed there, just a bit bloody. The scratch on his nose was very minor, and would heal up soon.

"Let me go get you some oran berries, stay here," She whispered into his ear, and then trotted over to a bush that was on the border between the forest and the beach. On the beach bloomed many beautiful white flowers, and with them there were small, blue berries. Ricky picked off three with her tail, and carried them back to Blue, dropping them on the sand in front of them. "Eat up, quickly now." The espeon sounded motherly to Blue, causing him to do as instructed and eat the three oran berries without hesitation.

"Those should make you stronger, but my heal bell with help more and clear your back and chest wounds up," Ricky explained, "Now, be very still." As the female got into a correct position, she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Her eyes peeled halfway open, and she placed each of her paws on both wounds, taking yet another deep breath. At first, Blue thought she was using calm mind, which confused him since it looked like she was trying to heal him. Then he came to the realization she was using heal bell, as a wave of satisfaction surfed over him, and the pain slowly began to die away.

"Your wounds are gone, you might need to wash the blood up," Ricky spoke up after her use of heal bell, "I couldn't fix the scar on your nose, but seeing as it's not permanent it will heal up soon."

Blue was too dumbfounded for words, his mouth slightly open as he nodded, following her directions as he stepped over to the water. He got down in it, being sure to soak his back and chest in the cool, refreshing salt water. When he was sure he got all the blood off, he stepped out of the water, shaking his damp fur off.

He peered around, looking for Ricky, but she seemed to be nowhere to be found. But he saw something to his left, and noticed she was in the water as well, cleaning off the paw with his blood on it. She must have felt him staring at her, because she looked up at him.

As their eyes made contact yet again, they both turned their heads away quickly, blushing.

When Ricky had finished cleaning herself up, she paced herself out of the water, legs soaked and weighing her lengthier fur down. As she made her way back on the beach surface, she examined the sky, noticing that the sun was beginning to set.

"We both need to be getting home," She called to Blue, his ears perking up as she did.

"Thank you," He nodded to her.

"You don't need to thank me," Her reply sounded ashamed, "It was my fault, I shouldn't have attacked you." The shiny umbreon shook his head at the purple female, not wanting to accept her apology.

"You shouldn't be sorry for it, you were protecting yourself," Blue stated, "If I had never attacked in the first place, it would never have happened." For the first time that day, Blue shot a grin at her.

"Alright," She sighed, smiling back at him, "We should both be getting home; our parents should be worrying about us."

"How do you know I still live with my parents?" Blue was confused, wondering if she had guessed or was just…weird.

"Your cocky, you have to be young," She told him plainly. Blue felt like growling, but something told him not too, instead he nodded to her.

"I have to go now," Ricky broke the silence yet again, and began to walk over to the right path that led away from the beach, "Goodbye."

"_Goodbyes are not forever, farewell." _Blue thought to himself, watching until Ricky disappeared behind the trees. As she did, he began walking for the left path, the path that would lead him back home.

oOoOo

Ricky began the quick journey back home, not yet taking in what had just happened. She had encountered an enemy, basically took him down, and then helped him. She shook her head at how confusing she was sometimes, shaking off her thoughts till she was home.

She was worried her dad would be a little mad that she was coming home so late, but a little relieved to see her brother returning home as well. As soon as the brown fox Pokémon saw his sister, he ran over and hugged his sister's front left leg tightly.

"Hey sissy, how was your day?" He cheered, releasing his grip from her leg. His big, chocolate brown eyes looked up at her adoringly, which could always cheer his big sister up when she was down.

"It was great, how was it at Jason's?" Ricky chuckled, ruffling his hair with her paw.

"Fun," Brandon purred, "We might need to go in now, mama and daddy could get worried." The lavender female nodded, and followed her brother into the cave.

"Mama, I'm home!" The young eevee cheered, running over and hugging an older lavender espeon, who was sitting in the room as if waiting for someone.

Ricky's heart nearly stopped when she saw Rachel was in the room _without_ her mate. Luckily, however, Ricky was spared from her stepmother's abuse thanks to her little brother occupying her focus by explaining his day to her.

The lavender cat crept across the room quietly, hoping Rachel wouldn't notice her.

She made it to her room safely, throwing herself on her bed. As she got comfortable on the silk, she found herself staring up at the sturdy, dirt "roof" above her. Her thoughts swarming around what had just happened.

First, she had gone to the beach, her safe haven from the rest of the world, but more importantly: Rachel. She had taken a little nap, and had awakened to find the enemy standing in front of her.

The enemy: a shiny umbreon who seemed to have little focus and concentration on what he was doing. He was weak when it came to fighting. Sure, his strength could've been fabulous, if he just knew how to use it.

He had stood there, watching as she positioned herself defensively, secretly wondering why he wasn't doing the same. He tried to advance on her, but she instinctively jumped away from him.

He tried to attack, but she dodged, and then took the damage out on him. He kept trying to fight back, to _defend_ himself, but she always dodged in the end.

He lost, he was injured, and she watched his pain take way.

She _helped_ him, she _healed_ him, and she _cared_ for the enemy.

Finally, she remembered the part where she had the leave, a small sense of hurt arising in her chest as she did. It was as if she was leaving a part of herself behind.

The one thing she remembered the best though, was the way her heart raced when she was staring into those gorgeous…magnificent…handsome, golden eyes that-

"Ricky, I can't sleep…" The frightened voice of her little brother woke Ricky up from her daydream, as she looked and saw the drowsy eyed little eevee in her doorway.

"Aw, come here little guy," She called sweetly. Brandon grinned from ear to ear, running up to his sister's bed and snuggling up next to her.

The rest of the family must have gone to bed while she was lost in her daydream, and Brandon had become frightened by one of his reoccurring nightmares as he occasionally would. When he did, he would always go to Ricky. She always understood, and she always comforted him.

"Another nightmare?" The caring sister question, receiving a nod from her baby brother, who was rubbing his restless eye gently. "You can sleep with me tonight, if you want."

Brandon's eyes beamed with gratitude, "Can you tell me a story? Please?"

His chocolate eyes stared pleadingly up at her, bringing a chuckle out of her. "Of course I can." She ran her paw gently through his hair, soothing the eevee quickly. Her stories for Brandon were almost always about him in a sort of way.

Sometimes he was a prince who everyone respected and had all the girls chasing after him. At other times he was the heroic eevee who brought peace and wonder to the world. Or it was just about a day "Little Brandon" had had.

Tonight, however, Ricky had a new story idea to preach.

"It's going to be a bit different today. You ready?" Ricky asked Brandon, who nodded at her, eyes shining brightly with excitement.

"Once upon a time, in a place so peaceful and beautiful, a young girl took cover." Ricky began, starting to dream herself, "It was her special place, the place that made her feel one with the world… it was so peaceful, she drifted off to sleep. While she did, another young traveler came upon the area, a place he didn't seem to come to all too much. He never saw the girl on the ground, and must have hit her, causing her to awake. They were both nervous, the girl more nervous than he. They began to attack each other, the boy missing the girl every time she attacked, her only hitting him once, causing great pain to him-"

"Was he okay?" Ricky was interrupted to see her curious little brother, who was as into the story as the narrator was.

"Oh, he didn't look okay," Ricky chuckled at her little brother, "The girl, she saw this. She went to him, she healed him, did everything she could. He was okay, nothing critical was done to him, and she had him wash up. Then, when the day came to an end-" Ricky paused to close her eyes, and take a quick breath. "-They departed. The place that was so peaceful and beautiful was soon vacant. But the girl someday hopes she will meet that boy again…"

oOoOo

Blue had set his quiet journey home, walking slowly, head hung low with his thinking. It only took him minutes to work his way past Stinky Pete's; it would take him a bit more to get back home. He wasn't thinking about the fact that they might be worrying about him at home, but he really didn't seem to care at that point. In fact, he didn't even seem to be thinking at all, only one word was running through his mind at that point.

Enemy.

He had been _rescued_.

By the enemy.

It was baffling.

She could've killed him.

But she didn't. Why was her decision so? Was she even part of the espeon tribe?

"_She could've been an outcast…" _Blue thought, _"No, she was heading back to the espeon territory…she can't be an outcast…unless she's hiding…" _Blue shook his head in frustration; there were so many questions he needed to ask that would be unanswered. Unless… unless he could find her again. When he got there, she was asleep on the beach. She had to feel comfortable enough to sleep there, she must go often. Yet, he hadn't even gotten a _name_ out of her. How was he supposed to find her?

"Blue? Blue! Where on _Johto _have you been?" The shiny umbreon's ears perked up; too engulfed in his thoughts to realize he had made it home. He was greeted by a black and yellow blur nearly tackling him to the ground in some sort of hug. Blue didn't even have time to answer, when the piercing red eyes spotted the scratch on his nose.

"You didn't have that before," His friend Lizzy questioned him, "What happened?"

"Oh, just got attacked by a crazy swellow," Blue lied, covering up for the espeon. Lucky for him, he was a pretty decent liar, and Lizzy believed him.

"You need to keep yourself out of trouble," The female umbreon shook her head, "The beedrill incident, the teddiursa's mother…" The beedrill incident really did happen, when Blue and Colton were having a battle too close to their hive, one of them hit it and angered the inhabitants of the hive. The teddiursa incident was a lie, when Blue had snuck off by himself, he had told the others he had scared a baby teddiursa on accident, and the mama ursaring wasn't too happy. He also claims he fought her off, and got his way back home. He was surprised everyone believed the story, since he knew he could never fend off a full grown ursaring all by himself.

"I will, I will." The shiny umbreon reassured his friend, giving her a comforting smile. She laughed at him, releasing from their hold and playfully punching his shoulder.

"Lizzy, you need to just let us boys be boys," Their other friend Colton spoke up from behind him, receiving a small growl from the female.

"Ha! Whatever, Colton," She chuckled, giving him a pretend glare. Colton smirked, and Blue just rolled his eyes at the both of him, and the gray umbreon saw.

"Oh, and what was that for, Blue?" Colton asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The two of you, you act like you've been mates for years," Blue spoke up, Colton and Lizzy both blushing.

"Friends Blue, good _friends_," The red eyed umbreon claimed, her and Colton both stealing a quick glance at the other. To Blue, it was obvious that they liked each other, but to Colton and Lizzy, they couldn't see it from the other.

"Whatever," The shiny umbreon gave in, for now at least. It was a quiet moment, awkwardly for the trio. It was when Colton and Lizzy's parents came out, ready to go home since the day was almost at its rest.

"Colton, come on honey, we need to be going," Colton's mother, a normal looking umbreon, called. His sister Carly and father weren't far behind his mother.

"Bye you guys," Colton told his friends, hugging both, but hugging Lizzy just a bit longer.

"Elizabeth, we need to go too," Lizzy's father spoke up. He was a normal umbreon too, just like his daughter. His mate, Lizzy's mother, died protecting her daughter from an unknown creature that struck in the dark one time. When Lizzy's father, Charlie, found them her mother was dead. He took the three year old eevee home, and gave her the rose that her mother always wore around her neck as a necklace, the same rose Lizzy always wore on her ear.

"Nice to see you today, Blue," The female spoke up. She gave her friend a quick hug before running off to walk home with her father. He watched both his friends go, and when they were out of sight, he walked into the big cage that was his home. His mother and father were both in there, talking about something he really didn't put much interest too, but his brother Danny was nowhere to be seen. Blue figured he was probably cleaning his room now, or just in his room to make his parents think he was cleaning.

Blue and Danny's rooms were upstairs; a rare edition to most caves in the umbreon tribe. The rock was constructed into stairs, which led up to another part of the cave, kind of like a real house.

"Mom, dad, I'm going to head to bed alright?" Blue told his parents.

"Okay, goodnight sweetie," His mother said, exchanging smiles with her son. Blue began to walk up the circular rock stairs, until he reached the top. There were three rooms up there, Danny's bedroom, Blue's bedroom, and their playroom. Blue and Danny didn't really use the playroom much anymore, and it mainly served a purpose as a guest bedroom at times. When you walked up the stairs, right in front of you would be the playroom, to the right was Danny's bedroom, and the left would be Blue's bedroom. When Blue made his ascent up to the top, he didn't even look to the right to see if his brother was really cleaning or not, instead he continued to the left in his room.

Blue's room was pretty big for an umbreon like him, and it had lots of stuff in it. To the right was his bed, weaved from caterpie silk, on his bed was his favorite maroon blanket, his main color as a "prince". To the left was his prince crown and maroon robe, which he wore to the royal ceremonies or important meeting. The robe went around his neck, and stretched over his body all the way to his tail. His mother, father, brother, and his self all had different colors.

His mother, being from the main matriarch family, wore a golden robe and the queen's crown. His father wore silver robs, and the king's crown. His brother wore the bronze robe, which symbolized he was next in line to rule when his mother stepped down. He also wore the main prince's crown. Blue's robe symbolized he was second in line, the only way he could rule is if his mother _and_ brother were both unable to rule. His crown was just one of the more common, prince's crowns.

In another corner of Blue's room was a chest that was full of many important possessions to him. Most of which were received from his two friends, important finds in some of his adventures, or even things that were passed down from ancestors in his family. In the middle of his room was a practice dummy he would practice his moves on in case of an ambush from the espeon tribe.

Usually when it was late at night, he would practice on the dummy since he had so much energy, being the moon eeveelution.

Instead, he lay on his bed, his back still sore from earlier. He was smart enough to know he didn't need to be on it much.

Like most others do when in bed, he decided to think about everything his mind controlled him too.

The one thing that frustrated him so much was why the espeon had even helped him, why would she do it? She knew very well if she healed him, he could've tried to hurt her again. She didn't care.

Those eyes, the eyes kept coming up in his mind, the pupiless blue beauties that made his heart beat faster. What was it about them that got him going…everything he wanted to know but couldn't.

Blue breathed a long sigh; he would have to think of a way to find her again. He closed his eyes; maybe sleep would help, even though it was a bit early for an umbreon like him to go to sleep.

In a matter of minutes, he dozed off, curled in a ball, dreaming big.


	4. I Love And Miss You

"_No one loves you; you're just a piece of worthless crap…" Rachel growled, stepping closer to the fallen espeon in front of her. The fallen espeon's blue scleras stared up at her step-mother; she was shaking, unable to stand. _

_Ricky tried one last, pathetic attempt to stand, but fell right back down. Her head thudded against the ground, adrenaline rushing through her whole body. Rachel's horrid laugh came out at her step-daughter's fall._

"_You're useless, a waste," The older espeon spat, inching closer till she was towering over the injured younger._

"_It's time to kill this waste…" Ricky heard the last, evil whisper before a harsh pain came to her side, claws ripping through her soft, lavender fur…_

"_Ricky!"_

"_Ricky?"_

"Ricky!" The espeon shuddered as she woke up from the nightmare, the same one she had repetitively. She opened her eyes and met her brother's chocolate brown. He was pushing at her side, in an attempt to wake her up. "Good morning, breakfast is ready!" Her little brother cheered before sprinting out of her room into the main room.

Ricky chuckled; she always envied her brother's boastful energy in the morning, wishing she was that way. He was _always_ happy, she missed her childhood.

Sighing, she climbed off of her bed, yawning and stretching. She quickly made her way around the corner, the smell of breakfast filling her nostrils. Her blue orbs identified an espeon, shiny espeon, and the little eevee from earlier waiting for her. Although Rachel was indeed in the room, Ricky felt slightly safer with her father present as well.

"Good morning, darling," Her father spoke, nuzzling his daughter for a quick moment, "Rachel made us some food, you can just get whatever you want." Ricky stared in disgust at the meat her step-mother and half-brother were now eating. Ricky, however, was a vegetarian, and refused to eat meat.

"_If I ate that she'd probably poison my piece," _Ricky thought to herself, glancing at Rachel for a moment.

"Alright, thanks dad," Ricky made her way to the apple basket which she had filled with ripe apples from yesterday, and picked up a big red one. She walked outside, taking a bite of her apple and sitting near the entrance of her family's den. The apple was sweet like the one from yesterday, and the cool morning breeze was already putting the young espeon in a positive mood.

She then realized tomorrow was Thursday, the day she was supposed to meet her friends. She recalled the day before, when they said they would meet on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and weekends. She so badly wanted to see her friends, Wanda the most, for some odd reason.

Wanda was someone Ricky could trust to talk too, and she wanted to ask her a question. Ask her if she had ever encountered an umbreon, like Ricky did the other day. She thought she couldn't have been the only one, right? It happens to everyone; at least, that's what she thought.

As Ricky nibbled her way down to the core of her apple, she put it in her mouth and rolled it around with her teeth. To her, it passed away time, but didn't fully wash away her boredom.

When she was done playing with the little bit of the apple, she threw it across the yard, watching it fall. Sometimes after doing that she would go and try to see if she could find it, but this time she didn't. She just didn't feel like going up after it this morning, instead she sighed, turning her head another way and just gazing at the world around her. At the neighbor's yard beside her, she spotted Brandon's friend Jason, playing tag with his mother.

Ricky just watched, feeling happy for the little eevee, he was lucky to have a mother. She believed everyone had to be thankful for something. If your mother died when you were seven, you still had to be thankful that you had her that long. If your father was the trouble, and was never at home due to something he was trying to do for his family, you shouldn't be mad at him. If your mother was the same way, you shouldn't be mad at her either. Just be thankful they are there for you and didn't leave you when you were just a young Pokémon.

"Tag!" The little eevee's voice rung from the neighbor's yard, "You're it mommy, try and catch me!"

The espeon mother chuckled, chasing her son across the yard. "You better run!" The espeon was chasing her son in a slow motion to let him get ahead, until she finally "caught up" to him. "Gotcha!" She gently tackled her son to the ground, both of them bursting out with laughter.

She did feel happy for the both of them, but still her eyes stung as she watched this, missing her mother and all the times they had missed out on. Her mother died when Ricky was only four, her mother too sick to play with her, sometimes too restless to even get out of bed.

"I miss her too, Ricky," The sound of her father's voice made Ricky jump; she didn't notice he had walked outside, and was watching the same thing she was. Ricky turned and made eye contact with her dad, the two sets of identical, blue pupiless eyes staring into the other.

So badly Ricky wanted to ask how he had moved on so quickly, and had become mates with Rachel. Ricky wanted to be thankful she had someone in a motherly position for her, but Rachel was abusive, so she found it hard to be thankful.

Ricky couldn't find a response for her father, so instead she nodded, and turned back to watch the eevee and espeon resume their game of tag.

"You remind me so much of her, if your eyes were that lilac color…" Her father seemed to get lost in his own mind, Ricky looked back to see him smiling, yet a tear was coming down his cheek. Ricky quickly wiped the tear away, meeting her father's eyes again and smiling.

"She's always in our heart, you know…" Ricky's voice came barely as a whisper, her father pulling her into a tight hug afterwards.

"I know," Her father spoke, releasing his hold on his daughter. Ricky gave a smile to her father, she loved being able to bond with her father, especially away from that Rachel…

"Dad, I was wondering if I could go to Wanda's today, and do some things afterwards…" The espeon asked for permission, almost whispering the last part as she looked at the ground. Her father was curious to know what the other things were, but he trusted his daughter enough to know it wasn't anything bad.

"Wanda is one of the ones from that defense class, correct?" Her father asked, receiving a nod from his daughter, "Alright, just get back before sunset for today." Ricky nodded in agreement and thanked her dad, before walking past him to the path that led north from her den. Wanda's den may have been farthest of her friends, but it would still be worth the walk. Wanda was the better of the girls to talk too, a funny, outgoing tomboy who was quite a conversationalist.

Ricky turned the first right, she was probably a minute or so from her house now, meaning it would take around fifteen or twenty more just to get to Wanda's.

For now, she filled her boredom by taking in the scenery. The towering oaks were always beautiful; their leaves shading her comfortably as she walked down the path, and past a left turn. There were constant blackberry and pecha berry bushes, pecha berries being very common in the espeon tribe's land. She heard the umbreon tribe's land was filled with rawst berries, pecha berries being very rare. Both berries were brought by Pokémon from another region, and they grew there, the soil perfect for each of them.

Infact, she had never even seen a rawst berry. She always wanted to try one, hearing how they had such a bitter taste. Bright green ones were unripe, the blue ones were ripe. How if the longer and the curlier the leaves got, the more bitter the berry would be.

Pecha berries, on the other hand, were pink unripe or ripe. They had a hollow inside, making what could be eaten very sweet and delicious, very different from the pecha berry in the taste effect. They were very tender berries, which also could have been due to their hollowness.

As Ricky turned yet another left turn, she found herself inches away from a rather familiar face. Lavender coat, and those feminine navy eyes, she could recognize them anywhere.

"Wanda?" She asked the espeon, who chuckled at her in response.

"No honey, it's me, Mrs. Nancy," The espeon replied in a different voice. It was then Ricky realized the espeon was taller, she also looked much older, and there was no yellow bow on her head. Ricky had actually run into Nancy, Wanda's mother, whom she took _a lot_ after.

"Oh excuse me, Mrs. Nancy," Ricky chuckled apologetically, "I was actually going to see Wanda."

"Oh, well I can spare you the steps," The older female offered, "If you would like that?"

A grin spread across Ricky's face, she found it really considerate that her friend's mother would offer a teleport to her.

"If you don't mind, thank you," Ricky answered, receiving a smile from Nancy.

"Alright, come close," Ricky did as told, and stood beside her friend's mother, who closed her eyes and began to concentrate. Suddenly, a white ring appeared around them, and the two turned white. In a split second, they had disappeared into thin air.

Just a few minutes away from where they had suddenly disappeared, Nancy and Ricky suddenly appeared in a different area, in front of a den similar to Ricky's.

"Thanks a bunch, Mrs. Nancy," Ricky said, giving the older espeon a quick hug.

"Anytime," The espeon nodded, "But I must be going." With another white flash, the adult disappeared, leaving Ricky there in curiosity.

"_Hmm…"_ Ricky thought, _"Wonder what her hurry is…"_

"Ricky?" The sound of her friend's voice snapped Ricky out of her thoughts, and she turned the face a much younger version of the espeon she had just seen, one who also had a bow on her left ear.

"Wanda!" The lavender feline tackled her friend in a hug. Wanda found it hard to breath in her friend's tight grasp. Ricky noticed this immediately, and quickly let go of her friend, looking at her apologetically.

"Settle down, you saw me yesterday," The lavender cat chuckled at her friend. In seconds she stopped laughing, and a look of curiosity washed across her face. "So, why do I found you in my yard this morning?"

"Oh, just wanted to see you, and I also have a question."

"Alright, spill it."

"Well, have you ever come across a…er…umbreon?"

"What? An umbreon? That's a silly question!" Wanda giggled loudly, shaking her paw at Ricky in disagreement. "Why would you ask that?"

Ricky stayed silent. Was she supposed to tell her that she encountered one just sometime after seeing her friends the day before? That she had attacked him, and then actually _helped_ him _willingly_? What would Wanda think if Ricky told her the truth?

"Wait." Wanda's face went a little pale, and she gave Ricky a serious look, "Did you-?"

"N-no!" Ricky lied, "I was just…uh…wondering?" The espeon spoke with question in her voice, and was relieved to see her friend hadn't noticed.

"Oh, alright," Wanda chuckled again, "Silly Ricky!"

"Yeah silly me," Ricky mumbled, her eyes shifting from her friend to the ground. She was disappointed at how ridiculous Wanda thought it was, and that she had lied to one of her best friends. She was a bit ashamed of herself, her mother taught her better.

Her mother.

Ricky had been trying her best to stop thinking about her mom, today especially. Her eyes began to get hot and sore, rustling her shaky paw through the lush green grass…

"Ricky?" Ricky's head jerked up to meet her friend's concerned look, "You look like a lost togepi, is something wrong?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," The saddened espeon fake smiled, she didn't want to make her friend sad.

"Alright," Wanda beamed, "Come on inside." Ricky watched her friend walk to and disappear into the den, following suit after her.

She had been in Wanda's house several past times, but it always seemed to amaze her every time. They actually had grass that grew _in_ the den, always making Ricky ask how they had it that way. Wanda and her parent's would laugh, saying how Ricky was so funny, getting the young female slightly frustrated.

"Come on, silly!" Wanda's cheerful voice giggled, dragging her friend into her room. Her bed was made from silk a caterpie would use right before it became a metapod. She had it dyed yellow, matching many other things in her room. Like her yellow glasses she would sometimes wear that where sitting on her wooden nightstand, and her yellow lamp with the fluorescent light of illumise and volbeat. Even the bow on her head was a matching yellow.

Wanda sat on her bed, leaving a place for Ricky to sit down. When Ricky sat down, she noticed the little minun doll on her friend's bed. In its hands was half a heart, which had an imprint of _Mitch_ across it.

"That's new," Ricky thought allowed, hearing a giggle from behind her.

"Isn't it cute?" The lavender feline cooed, reaching over and pulling the doll in her arms. "Mitch made it; he has a plusle with half a heart that even has my name on it."

"That's sweet," Was all Ricky could manage to say. She wasn't really a relationship type person, and didn't know how to react and respond to such things. Wanda wasn't really paying attention; she was messing with one of the ears on the minun, staring at it lovingly. "The two of you make a lovely couple." The espeon didn't look up, but a smile spread across her face.

"So do you and Dillon," She whispered loud enough for her friend to hear, still playfully pawing at the ear of the doll in her arms.

"You say that all the time," Ricky said, annoyed, a slight blush rising across her cheeks.

"Well, you know how he feels about you…"

"I do," She sighed, "I only like him a little bit, I just don't feel like he's the one though." Was there a hint of lies behind that statement?

"Well, what do you see in the perfect guy?" Wanda asked, now looking up from her minun doll. Ricky met her eyes, and saw the curiosity in her friend's gaze. Ricky sighed, Wanda was always asking these kinds of personal questions, and Ricky almost always ended up answering them for her.

"Someone willing to let go of me if they truly love me," Ricky started, also seeing her friend's slightly confused expression.

"I'm not finished," A chuckle quietly derived from Ricky, Wanda nodding for her to go on. "Then, if he still loved me, he would come back for me and tell me." It was quiet for a minute and also awkward when Wanda instantly stopped messing with the doll she was holding onto.

"Alright, it may be a bit unusual, but I respect your opinion," Wanda beamed, Ricky laughing nervously. She had never shared that with anyone before, and she was worried Wanda would think it was a weird reason.

"Thanks," Ricky whispered, looking down at her paws. Another silent moment fell upon them, which was rare in the case that Wanda was actually around. Wanda _always_ had something to say, and Ricky was slightly worried.

"Wanda, is something wrong?" Ricky broke the silence, making the feline jump.

"Well, it's just that…um…" Wanda spoke up, a little shaky in her voice.

"You can tell me anything," Trying to sound comforting, Ricky wanted to help her friend. She now knew instantly something was wrong, and would do anything to cheer a friend up.

"Mom and dad have been fighting lately, and mom has been leaving the house _a lot_," The usually cheerful tomboy cried, squeezing onto her doll tightly for comfort. Ricky quickly saw this, and nestled her friend reassuringly. It had no effect, to the female's surprise.

"Its fine, I'm _sure_ they'll make up soon…" Ricky knew she may be wrong, but she had to try.

"They've been going on like this for weeks; I haven't wanted to mention it…" Wanda started, coughing a little through her tears, "I'm afraid mom might leave." Ricky froze. The fact that Wanda was this negative and the thought of someone like her mom actually _leaving_? She knew her friend was wrong.

"Your mother wouldn't do such a thing, she loves you," The pupiless blue eyes stared in worry at the shaking lavender feline beside her. Wanda didn't know what to say back to her friend, so instead sobbed it out. Ricky understood, pulling her friend into a gentle hug, patting her back comfortingly. It seemed to help, for in minutes Wanda's sobbing came to an end, as she wiped her tears away on her small paw.

"Sorry," She apologized after wiping her tears away, releasing herself from the other espeon's arms and turning the other way.

"Don't apologize, you've listened to my crap before too," Ricky slightly scolded, hearing a chuckle from her friend. Ricky smiled, she may not be completely happy, but she was still slightly.

"You should talk to your parents, tell them how you feel," Ricky suggested. The lavender feline turned, her navy scleras meeting Ricky's blue.

"Thanks for being here, Ricky," The espeon smiled as a thank you.

"It's no problem," Ricky beamed happily, "So, when will you talk to them about it?"

"I think I really want to right now…" The espeon spoke softly, "At least, to dad for right now, since mom isn't here." Ricky nodded in agreement, she was happy her friend was going to tell her parents how she felt. Maybe they would try to cease their fighting, and look back to see what had been causing it lately.

"Good, I need to be going on though…" Ricky told her friend, her smile dropping.

"Sad you can't stay, but I _will_ be seeing you tomorrow," A look of happiness spread across Wanda's face at the thought, "I will see you then, thanks again, Ricky."

"You're welcome." The two friends shared a quick hug, then quickly left the teenage Wanda's room and entered the main den room. Ricky headed on her way out; Wanda was walking towards her parents' room, which was where her father must have been.

As Ricky made her way out, she looked around for Wanda's mother just in curiosity, but didn't see her. She was sure she would be back soon.

Ricky looked up to the sky, it was probably almost mid-day now, and it was perfect. Wanda also didn't live but almost a minute away from where Ricky wanted to go most. Spotting a small group of daises, Ricky walked over and pulled about three out with her tail. She carried them that way, walking a different path in which she had come.

To her surprise, the path to the graveyard was not only a minute or two away, and she arrived rather quickly. It was probably because she had been walking a bit faster to get there.

She sighed, before walking around many gravestones, till she reached the one she was looking for.

_Rose Black._

_August 12__th__, 1975-December 6__th__, 1999_

_Wife and Mother_

The tears that had been hot in Ricky's eyes finally found their way out, racing down the lavender cheeks and to the ground below. The espeon placed the daises on the grave, in front of the tombstone.

It was her mother's grave.

Ricky and her father would always come to visit the grave when they were close by, or if it was on Rose's birthday or the day she had passed. Ricky, however, went alone on one special day.

Today's date: April 27th, 2011.

The day from many years ago, that Ricky would never forget. It was _their_ day.

The sudden flashback rushed to Ricky's mind, remembering it like it was yesterday…

"_Where are we going mama?" A young eevee asked. A young adult female espeon chuckled at her daughter, turning to face the eevee with her lilac scleras._

"_I've taken you here for the past three years, this year you might actually remember," The espeon laughed softly, nuzzling her eevee daughter. The little eevee had just turned four a little over a month ago, so the last three years were a blur to her since she had been so young._

"_I love you mama," The eevee cheered through the silence. It was the fifth time she had told her mother that day._

"_I love you too, Ricky," The eevee's mother sighed, kissing the child on the forehead. "Okay, so you ready to go?" The mother's soft, pupiless lilac eyes gazed into her daughter's big, chocolate brown. _

"_Yeah!" The eevee cheered excitedly, wrapping her tiny arms around her mother's snout. The espeon grinned, softly pulling her muzzle away and gently grabbed her daughter with her fork-split tail and placed her on her back. _

"_Hold on to my neck, I don't need you falling off now, daddy wouldn't be too happy with me," The eevee did as she was told, putting her short front legs around her mother's neck. She put her face up to her mother's lavender fur, taking a smell of what smelled like rich pecha berries. _

_When the espeon felt the secure grip around her neck, she began to trot away from her den and down a path she knew all too well. She might tell her daughter she could close her eyes and walk their without making a mistake, but of course, she would be exaggerating._

"_How much longer mama?" The impatient eevee whined after a few minutes._

"_We're almost there sweetie, be patient," Her mother reassured her, laughing inside to herself at how impatient her daughter was; she was just like her father. _

_The eevee sighed, and nuzzled back into her mother's soft fur, closing her eyes. Her father knew they were going out for the day, so he wouldn't worry about them. He let them do this every year, to have some girl time. _

_Ricky yawned; she hadn't had her nap today, and was becoming a little sleepy. _

"_Ricky, we're here sweetie," The little eevee was too relaxed and comfortable to notice her mother had stopped moving, and they had made it. When Ricky peeled her eyes open, she couldn't believe the sight._

"_Wow…" She gazed in excitement, placing her front paws on her mother's head for a better look. They were standing in an opening from the forest, on a wide area full of beautiful sand shining from the sunlight. Straight ahead was an ocean, its calm waves rising up to the beach slowly and then powerfully sucking back in._

"_This is a free territory Ricky, no espeon or umbreon alpha owns this spot," The mother informed her daughter, using her tail to put her excited daughter on the ground. _

_Once Ricky's paws touched the ground, she was shocked by how warm the sand was, it instantly comforted her. The smell coming from the water filled her nostrils, and she felt even sleepier now. She still wanted to explore though, and the water was the first place she wanted to go. _

_She broke off in a run towards the water, her mother trotting after her. _

_It felt like forever to Ricky until she finally reached the water, a wave hitting her small body as she made her way. She giggled at the feel as the water sucked back in, slightly tickling her paws._

"_It's beautiful huh?" Her mother whispered from behind her, receiving a nod from her overly excited daughter._

"_Yes mama, it's so peaceful…" Rose chuckled at her daughter's comment, and began to pad her way into the shallow water. Ricky followed her out, but couldn't go out as far due to her height. _

_The ocean water was nothing like the fresh water lake back at home. It had a different feel, and the smell, oh the smell got the best of her. It calmed her nerves, and every worry seemed to wash away from the young eevee. _

_After a little playing in the water and some construction work in the sand, the fun had finally gotten the best of little Ricky, as she curled up next to her mother's warm, soft body. Her mother had lounged down for a bit of rest herself, with Ricky snuggled up next to her. Rose would have gotten back up, but she noticed that her daughter seemed to be falling asleep. Rose thought it would be fair to let her sleep, since she was so enthusiastic to show her daughter the beach that had skipped Ricky's nap._

_Rose slowly placed her head down, making sure it was in front of Ricky to keep her safe and protected. _

"_Mama, does daddy know of this place?" Rose jumped slightly hearing her daughter's voice, since she thought the little eevee had already fallen asleep. _

"_No, it's our little secret, promise?" The espeon beamed, putting her nose up to the eevee's._

"_Promise!" The eevee giggled. It grew quiet, and the eevee yawned, her nose still up to her mother's._

"_Ricky?" The espeon spoke, seeing if her daughter was still awake. The eevee's eyelids peeled open to show her sleepy, chocolate brown eyes._

"_Yes, mama?"_

"_I just wanted to tell you, if anything ever happens to me, I want you to know that I love you. With all my heart. I will always be there with you and for you, even when you don't know it. You are my angel, and I truly love you." The espeon's voice came gently, knowing her daughter probably wouldn't understand now. She knew when her daughter became older, and if still remembered, she would understand._

"_I love you too, mama." The eevee yawned, before stretching around and drifting off to sleep._

Ricky's looked back up at her mother's grave, her cheeks wet with hot tears. She placed her paw gently on the tombstone where her mother's name lay.

"You are my angel, and I truly love you." The espeon whispered, and then she slowly broke down into tears.

She understood.


	5. You're The Prince!

"Are you getting ready?" Danny asked from across the hall, sticking his tongue out at his brother, "_Prince Thomas_."

The shiny umbreon shot a shadow ball at his brother's feet as he was walking, causing him to trip and fall.

Blue smirked as his brother fell to the ground; he found it enjoyable to watch his brother's face collide into something that would cause him pain. "It's important a prince keeps his footing."

When the clumsy older male picked himself back up, a scowl was written across his face directed to his brother. "At least I _have_ the silver robe!" He snickered. "Not a useless maroon one!"

Blue chuckled. "Mom and dad made a mistake with that. I'm sure they'll come to their senses soon enough." He turned his back on his brother, fiddling with his crown.

"When I'm king, I'll be sure to outcast you," Danny threatened, "Unless, of course, you choose to bow to me."

"Trust me Danny," Blue replied confidently, "You'll be doing most of the bowing. I'm bound to become alpha king.

"Yeah, and who would want to become _your_ queen?" Blue's older brother spat. Blue wasn't facing him, so it was easier for the shiny umbreon to ignore him.

"I'm sure there's someone, Danny." The younger prince stated. "I mean, someone like you got a girl, so I'm likely to get one if that's possible."

"Ha!" Danny laughed. "Like who? That friend of yours?"

"Lizzy is just a _friend_." The shiny umbreon informed his brother. Blue didn't like Lizzy anymore than considering her his own sister, he knew how she and Colton felt about each other, and would never interfere with that.

"Then you have no one," The older prince laughed.

Before Blue could respond, his brother was already beginning to make his way down the curved steps. Blue rolled his eyes. Why did he have to live with someone like_ that_?

Like many rare times before, Blue was a bit on the grumpy side today. His parents had woken him up rather early in order for him to get ready for some meeting he was never informed of. Like every other meeting he attended, he wasn't going to listen. Until his parent's came to their actual senses and saw Blue was better suited for next in line as alpha rather than his brother, he would listen.

But not today.

This meeting also interfered with him finding out more about that espeon, he didn't know why, but he some sort of connection to her: a click. He didn't know what he meant when he told himself that earlier that day; he decided he would just have to find out for himself.

"Blue, come on down dear!" He heard his mother's voice. It wasn't sweet and patient as he usually heard, but rather a serious and formal tone. He knew instantly that the trio had arrived. He slipped his crown on, and took a deep breath. He's done this before.

"You're the prince!" He reassured himself, and turned to make his way downstairs like his brother had earlier. He had to take a formal, proper stride down. His back arched in the perfect posture, his head held high and his chest puffed out. He had to be careful with his footing, because making one mess up with his feet would be a slight disappointment.

When Blue made his descent down the stairs, he looked to his right. He saw the back of three umbreon's, sitting across from his family. Two of them were normal looking umbreon, and he knew them as the brothers, Paul and Henry. They were both the military unit bosses. They were in control, and were even soldiers themselves. Between them was the shiny umbreon, a female known as Claura. She ran the health centers in the umbreon tribe, and usually came to most meetings with Paul and Henry.

Not including his mother, Blue could relate to Claura, and was quite fond of her. They would have long conversations, and he would tell her a lot. Although it made it sound like they were friends, he wasn't allowed to consider her as such. She was a part of his parent's business, so they wouldn't allow him to call her a friend.

Making his way past the three, he took his usual spot to the left of his mom. To the right of her were his dad, and then his brother Danny. All four were dressed in their robes and crowns. When the three caught Blue in their eyesight's, they all bowed to him until he had taken his seat.

So they went along with their business. The trio began proposing many actions of what to teach their military and to ask for more help at the health centers. Many actions were brought up, some being accepted while others were denied.

Blue didn't listen much, and was staring past the trio, outside the cave, how he longed to be out there-

"Blue, what do you think of that?" His mother's words nearly scared him half to death as he turned to meet her questionable look. He was nervous, not knowing what to say, he would have to think of something, or would be scolded for not listening in on something important.

"Uh…er…I think that's great," He answered nervously, receiving quick smiles from his mother and father. He felt relieved, that must have been the answer they were hoping for.

Not wanting to have another question popped on him like that, Blue began to listen in to the meeting, and found it quite intriguing.

"-so since we have a lack of pecha berries lots of umbreon are going paralyzed for far too long, and it might be a problem." Blue heard only the last of what Claura was trying to propose, and it was his father who responded to her.

"Then it might be a smart idea to find some pecha berries and began growing them as soon as possible." His father thought aloud, which was a normal thing for the king.

"Correct, and the closest place with common pecha berries is in the espeon's tribe, sir!" Claura added in.

"Hmm… I wouldn't want to cause war with the espeon, so maybe we can find the few pecha berries here if possible to find them since they are so rare, and try to do it our own…" The king thought aloud once again. Claura nodded and opened her mouth to speak, but Henry interrupted her.

"My Queen, madam, speaking of the espeon tribe my brother and I have some news to bring," He informed, and stopped as if asking for permission to continue.

"Go on…" Blue's mother spoke, curiosity in her tone.

Henry cleared his throat before speaking once more. "We have had some reports about some suspicious, unidentified figures pushing into our territory, and we are not sure, but by the descriptions it seems to be some espeon."

Blue became pale, and he knew his parents and brother probably were too. By the sounds of it, it could be an alarm for a future espeon invasion, or just espeon outcasts trying to find their way around. But espeon outcasts had never been spotted this close before…

"Well, if the figures keep being reported to you, please inform us, for the meantime have the edges of our territory guarded off and well protected." The queen informed them, and the brothers nodded to her.

"Yes, my lady." They both bowed their heads.

Only a few more minutes of proposal and other royal whatnots were brought up, and then it was all over. It brought a slight disappointment to Blue, since today's topics had been quite interesting and had gotten him very intrigued. He was also looking forward to talking to Claura, but the trio had bowed and departed seconds are the meeting had even ended.

"_Hmm… I listen once and it lasts thirty seconds, typical,"_ Blue rolled his eyes, _"So I woke up from my peaceful, deep sleep for a meeting that basically only lasted for about ten minutes…pssh…"_

Not even having to ask, Blue left from his family's side and made his ways to the stairs. Up.

Was that all he did every day?

Up.

Down.

Up.

Turn back.

Down.

Up.

Down.

Fall down.

Get up.

Continue going back down.

Blue sighed; he really wanted to get out more. He didn't get to go out much though, since his parents were afraid for his safety since he was a prince and all.

"Blue! Could you come back down here for a second, dear?" The sweet, familiar voice of his mother didn't worry him, so he did as he was told. He turned and began to go back down the stairs, the rhythm from earlier returning back to his thoughts.

Blue was surprised when he got back downstairs, as he saw only his mother at home. He looked around for his brother and dad, and his mother seemed to notice this.

"They went out somewhere, they wouldn't tell me," She informed him, receiving a simple nod in return from her youngest son.

"So, what did you want, mother?" Blue asked, sitting down and staring curiously at the queen.

"Could you go to the store today and stock us up on some oran and rawst berries please," His mother asked him sweetly, "I let the servants off today, you know I hate to overwork them."

"Yes ma'am," Blue nodded, smiling at his mother. She had a kind heart, and when her mate didn't know, she would let her servants have the day off occasionally. Blue's father couldn't do anything to stop her; the royalty _did_ come from her bloodline, not his. So she was the official ruler of the umbreon tribe.

Doing as told, Blue spun on his heels and being to make his way outside of the cave. For some strange reason, he couldn't stop smiling. He knew his parents still didn't like him leaving the castle, but every once in a while his mother would send him off to the store to get some stuff. It was fun for Blue to get out some and get to see the people of his kingdom. The town was his favorite, and safest, place.

There were two paths that led away from his home, a left, and a right. Blue took the right, walking down the path that would, in minutes, bring him into the town. Blue was still wearing his robe and crown, which was important for him to do when out in public.

The sound of laughter and socialization made Blue perk his ears up, and he looked ahead to see the buildings of the town. The shops, the hospitals, the food stands and amusement stands. Little brown eevees were running around all about, Blue even spotted a few gray, shiny eevee among the many. As he walked into the town, familiar faces turned to greet him, all wearing smiling faces.

"Good day, young prince."

"It's nice to see you, Prince Blue."

"How are you, prince?"

Many different voices came to him; all who saw him gave a head bow to his presence. Blue smiled and even greeted them all with a "Good Morning" or "Have a nice day".

Among all the buildings in the town, the berry shop had to be one of the last one's down the street. When he had spotted it, he kept his eyes on it, not really paying attention to what was going on around him anymore…

"Ouch!" A tiny voice cried as Blue felt something hit his right front leg. He looked down to see a little shiny eevee rubbing her head; she must have run into him by accident.

"Here, let me help you up," He chuckled, helping her back up on her feet. A brush formed across the eevee's cheeks, she didn't seem to know what to do. Behind her, a worried shiny umbreon was approaching the prince and the shiny eevee.

"Molly, you need to watch where you're going dear!" The umbreon told the eevee, bowing to Blue, "I'm sorry for my daughter, prince."

"It's not a problem," The prince nodded to her, the little eevee creeping back over to grab her mother's leg. Blue felt a little flattered with all the umbreon bowing to him, wanting to tell them they didn't have too. This is why he was a little relieved to walk into the berry shop, seeing that basically only three others were in there.

Blue walked up to the receptionist, they usually had a bag ready for them. When Blue's mother would send her son to the berry shop, it was almost always the same thing she wanted.

"Ah, the prince, I have what you want I suppose?" The umbreon behind the counter said, scooting a berry pouch over to Blue. Blue nodded, thanking him and paying him. Blue took the bag and threw it over his shoulder, turning to walk out when he noticed a _very_ familiar face in the crowd outside.

Sure enough, when he got closer to the umbreon, his golden eyes met a set of red ones, and Blue knew who he had found.

"Colton, what're you doing here?" The prince pepped up, the umbreon opposite also surprised to see one of his best friends.

"Oh, I'm just hanging out," Colton answered, "You about to head home?"

Blue's smiled dropped, "Sadly, would love to stay and talk."

"I can actually come home with you, my parents told me to get out of the house," The umbreon chuckled; Blue rolled his eyes at him.

"Alright, come on then," Blue instructed, the two walking side by side on their way back home.

"They sure do like to bow at you," The prince's friend pointed out, as he saw many other umbreon and a few eevee bow to the prince's presence.

"Yeah, they're better than you," Blue joked, receiving a laugh from his friend.

"I'd like it better if you bowed to me," Colton beamed.

"Yea right!" The shiny umbreon laughed.

The two decided to save the chat for later, both getting a little of a headache from all the towns umbreon trying to talk to Blue. When they had finally made it back to the path and away from the town, they both felt relieved.

"By the way, have you seen Lizzy today?" Blue asked randomly, trying to find something to talk about.

"No, I thought she'd be in town, I was looking for her," Colton replied, sounding a little down.

"Stalker."

"Are not.

"Are too."

"You're like a child, Blue," The older umbreon rolled his crimson eyes playfully.

"See, now you made the conversation boring," Blue informed his friend.

"Whatever, Blue," Colton laughed, "Hey, we're at your house."

"No really, I didn't see the big cave in front of me," Blue rolled his eyes sarcastically, Colton following behind him into the alpha's cave. When they arrived, it was still just Blue's mother there, and he handed her the bag of berries.

"Thank you, Blue dear," She kissed her sons forehead, and then her gaze fell on Colton, "I see you'll be staying with us for a bit?"

"Yes ma'am," Colton said, giving her a small head bow. Although he wouldn't bow to either of the prince's, he would for the king and queen. The queen smiled as she watched the boys walk up and around the stone staircase, eager to get to Blue's room.

"Ah!" Colton said, falling onto Blue's bed. The shiny umbreon only shook his head at him, walking over and taking his crown and rob off. His friend still lay comfortably on his bed, so Blue decided to leave him and walk over to his practice dummy. He just sat in front of it, using cut on it. He wasn't putting much force into it though, and it was clearly shown.

"Okay, either you really suck or something's up," Colton's voice broke across the room, Blue turning his head to look at him.

"Just, tired is all."

"Nah, you're thinking about something and I know it," His friend said, as he got off his friend's bed and moved to sit beside the shiny umbreon.

"Oh well," The blue-ringed male sighed, dropping his gaze to the ground.

"Come on, what's up?" The golden-ringed male asked, now slightly concerned for his friend.

"Do you think I would be a better king than Danny?" Blue ignored Colton's last question, asking him a different one.

"It depends," Was all Colton had to say, leaving Blue a little confused.

"How?"

"Danny is older, and can still be serious at times. But you're stronger, and very kind," Colton explained briefly to his friend.

"I wish my parents could see that side of me," Blue whispered, giving out a loud sigh. He felt a slight push to his shoulder as Colton gave him a fake punch.

"Ouch," Was all Blue could muster. This time, Colton rolled his eyes.

"Come on dude, I know what'll cheer you up," Colton stated, a sudden spark in his eyes, "Let's go have a battle!"

oOoOo

"Are you sure this will cheer me up?" Blue asked his friend. They were now standing outside of the royal's cave, where they had the room to fight.

"Come on, it cheers _everyone_ up," Colton cheered, "Now, you ready?"

Blue rolled his eyes, "Ready."

Colton grinned at Blue's last word, and then suddenly shot a shadow ball. Blue dodged, but barely, shooting a shadow ball back at Colton. Colton almost mimicked what Blue had just done, barely missing the shadow ball.

With one quick move Colton got back on his feet, and began charging faster than usual at Blue. Blue realized when it was too late that his opponent was using quick attack, and he was hit square on.

Blue was prepared with a comeback however, and as soon as he had taken a hit, he took his chance. His tail lit up as he moved forward and hit Colton smack in the face with an iron tail. Colton took the hit pretty bad considering how close he was, but he quickly was able to shoot a shadow ball, and right in Blue's face too.

This one brought the shiny to the ground, but he quickly got up, and began to dig into the ground until he was no longer visible. Colton felt a little useless; Blue knew how to use the move dig and he didn't. So he wasn't prepared when Blue came right up under him, his paw jabbing Colton right in the stomach, hitting hard.

"Alright, hold it!" Colton forfeited, holding his hand up. "Let's practice on that dummy some more, then try this again, eh?"

"Whatever you say," Blue chuckled, feeling his blood rush. His friend was right, that battle did get him feeling better, and he was a little sad too find it was over. He walked with Colton back inside to train some more, eager to see how they could improve.

As the shiny umbreon prince and his friend made their way back in, they were unaware of the set of eyes following them. The same eyes, infact, that had been following Blue since he had first left his home.

Once the prince and his friend disappeared inside the cave, the eyes blinked, disappearing within the brush.


	6. Answers

"Colton, you're so ridiculous that doesn't even make any- Blue are you okay?" The voice of the prince's best friend Elizabeth asked, looking concerned at her friend's actions.

They were all in Blue's room, Elizabeth and Colton had been talking about something, but Blue had been too focused on something else to listen, instead laying on his bead staring into space.

"Huh? Oh, uh… yeah just fine," He gave her a cheesy smile, receiving her roll her eyes in return.

"I know something's wrong, when you want to tell us, tell us," She stated, "We aren't going to pressure you to tell us, come and talk with us, I'm sure it'll cheer you up." She beamed sweetly at him, holding out her paw and helping him get up.

"Now, as I was saying, Colton-" Elizabeth started off again after the shiny umbreon took a seat beside her. "That didn't make any sense, what you just said."

"Actually, me winning that race made perfect sense," The older male replied, holding his head up high. Blue instantly caught on to know they were talking about the race the other day. They probably didn't pay attention much to who had won when they were searching for Blue.

"No, no, no!" The female barked, "I beat you, you were a tail behind me!"

"No, no, no!" Colton mocked, "I beat you, you were a tail behind _me_!"

Elizabeth stuck her tongue out at him, ignoring him by not saying anything about the race. She came to the fact that she _was_ the one who had won and he just didn't want to admit it.

"You guys are ridiculous," Blue joked, laughing at his best friends.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lizzy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He's just being Blue, Lizzy," Colton said, punching the shiny umbreon on the shoulder. They all laughed together, just three, close, best friends.

"Could you guys shut up?" A voice came from across the hall, the three umbreon turning to see the older prince staring at them.

To his right were his girlfriend and Colton's sister, Carly, and an umbreon with green eyes called Brett. To his left was another friend, a very strong, much bigger normal umbreon called Hunter.

Once Elizabeth caught sight of Hunter, she tried to hide herself behind Blue. Hunter always had a crush on Elizabeth, and she was too kind to tell him how much he scared her.

"My room, my rules," Blue winked at his brother, which only made him angrier.

"Don't make me beat you up in front of your little friends," Danny growled, the friends next to him snickering.

"You couldn't beat me up if you tried," Blue shook his head, "Come on guys let's go outside." Elizabeth hesitated at first, but followed behind Colton who decided to go first. Blue took in behind her, and gave a final glare at his brother and friends before he began to walk down the staircase.

Blue's parents weren't in the kitchen or the family room, so he guessed they were probably somewhere in their room, under the stairs. Although it was under the stairs, it was still a big room, because it also led under Danny's room.

"So much more peaceful out here…" Elizabeth spoke up as the three friends exited the alpha cave, basking in the beautiful sunny day. Despite being umbreon, being in the sun every once in a while didn't hurt them.

"Yeah, sorry Danny does that all the time," Blue rolled his eyes at the mention of his brother.

"It's okay, we're used to it," Elizabeth chuckled.

"Whatever, so what do you guys want to talk about now?" The shiny umbreon asked, lying down with his friends on the cool summer grass.

"What about where you went off to during that race," Colton glared.

Blue gulped, he was hoping they wouldn't ask him this. He didn't know what to tell them, he hated lying to his friends, but he might have too.

"Just, somewhere I can't tell you…" Blue said, looking down instead of at his friends.

"Was someone else there?" Elizabeth asked.

"No…" It barely even came out as a mumble. It was obvious to his friend's that Blue _really_ didn't want to talk about this. They both shrugged it off, but were mumbling something to each other, out of Blue's earshot.

"-he wouldn't!" Lizzy spoke a bit too loud at a point, her and Colton turning to meet Blue's golden eyes. He gave them a look, raising his eyebrows at them.

"So…what're you guys talking about?" The shiny umbreon smirked, getting up and walking over to where he was right in front of the two.

"Oh Blue… so curious," Elizabeth chuckled nervously. Blue knew he couldn't crack her, so instead looked at Colton. Colton was like an umbreon Pinocchio, except his nose didn't grow when he lied. When Colton lied, he wouldn't look straight at you; his eyes would be looking to the left of your head. Colton, seeing Blue's sudden gaze on him, knew exactly what his best friend was thinking.

"Don't even try it," Colton growled playfully as Blue opened his mouth to speak.

Blue shook his head, and laid back down in the cool grass. They were shaded by a tree, keeping their black and gray fur away from the sun's scorching rays.

"How do I put up with you guys?" The prince rolled his eyes.

"Ha!" Elizabeth giggled, "How do you think we feel?" She nuzzled him on the cheek for a quick moment, and then pulled away. Colton looked a little jealous for a moment, but shook it off after his two best friends noticed.

"Whatever," Blue laughed, "What time is it?"

"I don't know I'm not a clock," Colton pointed out, keeping a straight face. Elizabeth giggled silently to herself while Blue glared at him.

"You're playing a dangerous game," Blue growled.

"That's how I roll," The playful umbreon spoke proudly.

"You two don't start this again!" Elizabeth said, playfully punching Colton on the shoulder with her black paw.

"Man, I wish we could hang like this every day," Colton brought up, "Like we used to."

"Yeah, before my tenth birthday…" Blue said, forcing his eyes to the ground. Blue hadn't evolved till he was thirteen, but ten was the age when princes and princesses were supposed to start carrying out their royal duty. He had to attend meetings, the days when his robe drowned his whole body below his neck and his crown was always falling off. Since then, he had no time to hang out with his best friends. They used to hang out almost every day, the three were inseparable.

"It's not your fault," Elizabeth reassured him, giving him that sweet smile. Elizabeth Lizzy could still be a crazy, hyper teenager who still seemed like a small eevee, she had a sweet side, and others in need of comfort would always find her at their sides.

"Maybe not…" Blue whispered, just for himself to hear. He didn't look back at his friends, instead locking his golden eyes on the cloudless sky. Sometimes he wishes he just had a little courage, something to keep him moving. The courage to speak his mind to his parents, why he believed he would be better suited as the prince. To tell his friends what _really_ happened, where he _actually_ was that day. To stand up to his brother, tell him all the things he had stuck in his head, but never had the nerve to say.

He was thinking about all this, even when there wasn't even a cloud to stare at. It was just that blue color…that…that _familiar_ blue shade… the sun, like that pupiless shine, right in the middle of the sky, level even with the ground. It was about mid-day, Blue assumed. Why was he thinking about those blue pupiless eyes? He didn't even know what he was thinking about, till it struck him, he was thinking about that espeon again.

"Ugh…" The shiny umbreon growled, returning his eyes back to the ground.

"What's wrong?" His friend Elizabeth asked. He looked up to meet her intimidating red eyes. They were no match for her sweet, caring smile, however.

"I just can't keep thinking about someone, I barely even know them," Blue didn't even realize what he had told her until it had come out. He looked at her alerted, his head was now off of the ground and his blue-ringed ears were sticking straight up.

"Who?" The female umbreon giggled, noticing the gray shiny's red cheeks.

"A girl, I assume," Colton smirked, nudging Blue's shoulder.

"What?" Blue snapped, "I don't have a _crush_ on her, like I said, I barely even _know_ her!"

Colton sighed, rolling his eyes while Elizabeth beamed at Blue.

"Tell us when time's right, then," Elizabeth giggled, giving Colton a look.

"Fine," Blue shrugged, "I need to go somewhere." The shiny umbreon stood up, saying goodbye to his friends, walking past them. He only walked for a few seconds, before looking back to see both of them still lying there, watching him.

"When I get home, I'm hoping you guys won't be here, it would be a little creepy," The blue-ringed umbreon chuckled.

"We practically live here," Colton pointed out.

"That worries me more," Blue said, trying to keep a straight face but smiling moments afterwards.

Colton smiled, he and Elizabeth both getting up, "Bye, Blue."

"Bye guys," Blue nodded his head, before turning back around and running off again.

He felt his friends' eyes on him, but he knew they wouldn't see where he was going. They were also smart enough not to follow him, having known him for so long they knew he would've snapped at them for it.

As he began from a walking pace, to more of a jog, he quickly made his way to Stinky Pete's, and to the place he had slid the other day. He pushed his way through the brush, and heard the faint sound of the water again. Like the day before it took him a little over a minute until he caught sights of the beach. He was still surprised that he seemed to be the only Pokémon that even knew of its presence. But, yet again, not many enjoyed being in Stinky Pete's company, so since this broad beach was behind his cave, it would explain the reasons.

"I shouldn't be so caught up in this…" Blue thought aloud to himself. Since his friends weren't around anymore he decided to share his feelings out loud, _thinking_ no one had heard him.

"-going again," Was the last part of the whisper the shiny heard. As soon as he heard it, the hairs on his neck stood up and he jumped to look behind him. It was beginning to scare him; he had felt lately that someone had been watching him.

"W-Who's there?" He shuddered, looking around. He was alone this time, it could be dangerous.

After minutes of waiting for anything to happen, nothing did, as if nothing was even _there_.

Blue shrugged to himself, easing up. "You're just getting a bit paranoid, that's it." The golden pair of eyes took one last look around, before turning and continuing to where he was headed.

Blue wasn't being paranoid, for as he disappeared behind the brush, a black Pokémon jumped from a hidden tree. Sporting dim golden rings, and petrifying red eyes. The Pokémon's left eye featured two permanent scars printed cleanly across the lid. He breathed slow, loud breaths that reeked of a stench like that of a grimer's.

oOoOo

"She's not here," Blue said aloud to himself again, looking around the golden-sand beach. He knew she probably wouldn't, so decided to wait a bit.

He decided to pass the wait by placing himself in the calm, salty water. The waves felt funny as they washed over his short-haired paws soothingly, and then pulled back in, tickling his feet a bit.

He could see why she liked to come here. If she did…

"You're stupid…" He told himself, "She probably doesn't even come here, probably never again after seeing me here…"

The shiny umbreon sighed, looking out past the water. He wondered if it was an ocean, or just a really big lake. _A big lake with a sandy beach?_ Okay, he didn't know what it was.

"What are you doing here?" A surprised, small voice caused Blue to jump in the air, goose bumps traveling all over his body. He turned quickly, to find a small, red, blue, and white-chested bird Pokémon on the ground looking up at him: a taillow.

"I was uh, looking for, uh-"

"Ricky?"

"Ricky? Who's Ricky?" Blue asked, hoping for the answer to be what he was thinking at the moment.

"She's an espeon, about your age, funny looking blue eyes?" The taillow asked questionably.

"So that's her name…" The umbreon thought over quietly.

"Pardon?" The little bird asked, his bright eyes meeting Blue's.

"Nothing, I'm her friend," Blue lied, "Do you know if she comes here often?"

"Well, yeah she does, do-"

"Watson!" A much sharper, feminine voice cried. The taillow and umbreon looked to see a much larger form of the little bird coming their way, similar to the taillow, but with noticeable different markings.

"_A swellow…"_ Blue thought, _"I guess the story I told Lizzy and Colton could've been true!" _

The larger bird Pokémon landed next to her pre evolved form, putting her left wing around him.

"Do you think you need to share others personal information with strangers?" She asked the little bird sweetly.

"Sorry mama, I got ahead of myself," The young bird said, snuggling into his mother's side.

Blue stepped back a bit when the swellow's piercing eyes landed on him.

"What do you want?" She asked him, narrowing her gaze; "We know umbreon and espeon are enemies, it is very rare that you could even be friends with Ricky."

"Well, sorry I stretched the truth a bit," The umbreon quickly apologized, "We met the other day, I just need to talk to her about something, and I won't hurt her. If I do, you can be here to watch and make sure I don't."

The glare on the swellow seemed to continue for ages, until she hesitantly nodded her head.

"I can go find her, but if you even come close…" The female trailed off, shaking her head. She motioned for her son to follow, as they both took off and veered to the right.

Blue sighed, now he had to wait. Waiting wasn't fun.

oOoOo

"Anyone know where Mitch and Wanda are?" Ricky asked curiously, looking around the forest. Brooklyn and Dillon both shrugged.

Today was Thursday, the day they would be meeting for today. When Ricky had arrived, Brooklyn and Dillon were already there, and Mitch and Wanda were yet to arrive.

"You're so impatient sometimes," Dillon chuckled, receiving a glare from his friend.

"I am not!" She defended herself. Brooklyn was just listening to the two, at first it was fun for the two to constantly pick on each other, now after the fifth time today, it was becoming annoying.

"You two, please, hush for a minute?" The shiny espeon asked politely, giving them a sweet look.

"Fine…hey look here come the lovebirds," Ricky pointed out, the three psychic types turning their head to see the couple, tail in tail.

"Don't be jealous," Mitch replied, hearing Ricky's comment. The female just rolled her eyes at him in reply, receiving a giggle from Wanda.

"What took you guys so long?" Dillon asked.

"We don't have to be here exactly on time," Mitch teased, playfully punching the scruffy-furred male on the shoulder.

"Yeah, whatever," The male replied, getting up and walking towards the water, "I'm going to swim now." The male espeon pointed his snout in the air; eyes closed, and began to walk towards the water with a fake sassy attitude. His four friends rolled their eyes at him, ignoring him like they usually would.

"Alright," Wanda spoke up, "So how have you guys been? I just thought I would ask."

"I've been great, family's fun, they probably don't even know I left the house!" Brooklyn giggled. Brooklyn's family consisted of her mother, father, grandmother, and five brothers and two sisters. Surprisingly, however, she was very bashful.

"That's wonderful, I've been doing well too," Wanda stated, although Ricky knew she had lied at the last part.

"My life's been doing wonderful, what about yours Ricky?" Mitch spoke up, eyeing Ricky.

"Good, had a few funny days, but everything's alright," The espeon replied, shooting her gaze to the ground again. She didn't know why, but she would tend to do this often.

Ricky felt her friends' eyes on her for a moment, until the sudden stress lifted and they moved on to something else. "Well, Brooklyn and I are going to go swim, too." Wanda once again broke the silence, walking with the shiny espeon over to the water where Dillon was.

"Have fun with that," Mitch waved at them, causing Ricky to be a little confused.

"You aren't going to swim?" She asked him, receiving a slight chuckle from him.

"No, not today," The pupiless, purple eyes blinked, the male's tail swishing back and forth.

Ricky tilted her head over to the side a bit, meeting his eyes, "Any reason why?"

"Someone is questionable," Mitch joked, "But I guess I can tell you that it's just that I don't _feel_ like it, okay?"

"Ah, well." Ricky rolled her eyes, "I really don't feel like it either."

"I hear it's supposed to storm today," The male espeon suddenly changed subjects.

"Of course, you know everything," Ricky pointed out.

"Of course I do," Mitch replied, looking rather proud.

The female espeon would have replied, but a sudden cold wave washed over her and Mitch as they were splashed with water by Dillon.

"Hey!" Ricky called, "What was that for?"

Dillon didn't reply, he just smirked at them, Wanda did the talking. "Come on you guys, why not swim? It's fun!" She had already climbed out of the water, picking up her bow on the rock she had left it on along the way in. By the time she made it close to Mitch and Ricky, she already had it placed on its usual place on her ear.

"We don't feel like it, sweetie," Mitch gave his girlfriend a reassuring smile, "I'm sorry."

"Ah, come on!" She cheered, grabbing him by the paw and trying her best to pull him over to the water. Mitch tried his best to fight back without hurting her, losing along the way.

Ricky chuckled when Mitch pushed _her_ into the water when they got there. Mitch did get a bit wet, but laughed hysterically at his girlfriend, but it wasn't over yet. Wanda quickly reached up, grabbing Mitch and pulling him in as well. Now it was Wanda's turn to laugh, everyone but Mitch tuning in with her.

Mitch quickly responded by tackling her, the two beginning to wrestle in the water. She was watching them for a few minutes, unaware that someone had joined her side.

"Want to swim; I won't push you in, promise?" A familiar voice rang in her ear. Ricky turned to meet the lavender eyes that belonged to her friend Dillon, who was sitting so close to her she could feel his breath right in her face.

"Sure," She beamed, but before she could get up and join him, another voice sounded from above.

"Ricky, there you are!" A voice cheered, a gentle flap of wings sounding behind the two espeon. They both turned to meet the two birds Pokémon, the smaller one running and hugging Ricky's leg.

"Watson, Mrs. Nicole!" Ricky stated, surprised, "What are you two doing here?"

"You're needed somewhere," Nicole, the swellow, explained, "If you can please, could you come and follow us?"

The espeon looked to her friends, who nodded, knowing it could be important. She gave them all a quick, apologetic smile before looking back at the two flying types.

"Alright, lead me there," She nodded. The flying types smiled, without speaking back they rose into the air, waiting.

"Sorry you guys, I won't skip out again," Ricky apologized quickly, her friends quickly forgiving her.

"See you later, Ricky," Dillon told her, again very close to her.

"You too," She beamed, before motioning for the two birds too begin leading her, following them along the way.

They led Ricky away from her and her friend's meeting place, back into the forest, and back onto a familiar terrain all too well. She began to become a little panicked, if they were leading her to the beach, it worried her. Who on earth would be there? She was sure she was the only one who had been there…unless…

She shrugged off the idea, and continued to follow the two birds in the sky. At points it would be hard to see them due to the blocking of the tall trees, but she still managed to stay on their trail.

"Here," She heard the swellow's voice from above. Ricky found herself stopping onto the soft beach sand, looking around everywhere.

The espeon couldn't seem to find anybody, a bit confused, "There's no one here." She told the swellow and taillow as they landed beside her.

As soon as Ricky had pointed his absence out, Blue stepped out from the bushes near the trees, the three heads turning to him. Ricky's eyes grew wide with shock, standing up and turning herself towards him.

"You…" She whispered silently, staring at the umbreon. She had to admit, she was a bit nervous, still wondering why he had even come here.

"Look, I just need to talk to you," Blue reassured her, making his way over and sitting a good distance away from her. The two flying Pokémon stayed, wanting to make sure nothing went wrong.

Ricky hesitated, "You shouldn't be here," She stated, changing the subject.

"I know, and I'm sorry for that," The umbreon tried to be polite; "I just need to talk to you, and know some things."

"Fine, but I'm not listening too long," The espeon replied, looking anywhere but at him.

The umbreon slightly chuckled at her, she kind of reminded him of his friends. Of course when he laughed, she shot him a look, meeting his eyes again. She was trying to look away, but now she wanted to listen, something told her too. She thought it was weird, but she went along with it.

"Really, I just want to know why you helped me," Blue asked her, "I mean, with your strength, you could've killed me."

"First, neither of us is stronger, you're just cocky," Ricky stated, receiving a smirk from the umbreon, "And second, I helped you because I can't just leave you like that, I'm not light-hearted, I would never kill anyone."

"Yeah, but I'm your enemy," The shiny explained, repeating the thoughts he had been thinking the past few days, "I could be the reason the umbreon win this little feud we have going on or whatever, not saying that I am, though." Blue knew exactly what was going on, he was trying to be a bit "confused" about it. If the espeon and the bird Pokémon knew of his true identity of prince, there's no telling what would happen. So for now, he needed to keep quiet about it.

"Yes," Ricky agreed, "But what if you were the one who could change a million things?"

"Uh… I don't know how to answer that question," Blue shrugged, "If it was one."

"Cool," The espeon said, smiling a bit.

"Okay, that made no sense either," Blue said, narrowing his eyes a bit in confusion.

"I meant to do that, the conversation got boring," She replied, blinking her blue eyes.

"Hmm…" The shiny umbreon mumbled, "Wait, did I ever introduce myself?"

"No." The espeon said plainly.

"Oh, well my name's Blue-"

"Yeah, and they call me Turquoise."

"Blue's not my real name, and I'd rather not mention my real name, so call me Blue for now," He explained to her. Letting her know his name was Thomas could also be dangerous. It was possible the female knew that the umbreon prince was a shiny named Thomas, so for now, it was a secret too.

"Oh, well I'm-"

"Ricky," They both said at the same time.

"Have you been stalking me lately?" Ricky chuckled.

"No, Watson kind of told me," Blue said, indicating the taillow. Ricky had totally forgotten about the two birds there, and it kind of brought her to realization of her situation.

"Wait, we shouldn't be talking," She said, looking down at her feet, "You should go."

"Wait, I just need to know more," The shiny umbreon stated.

"I'm not sure-"

"I won't hurt you, I won't do anything that could lead to hurting you, "Blue reassured, "Maybe we could be friends?"

"You're very brave, even to trust me," She replied, "You're also kind of stupid."

"I know," he agreed, "Are you doing anything today?"

"Yes."

"Tomorrow?"

"No."

"Well, how about we meet here tomorrow, talk some?" Blue asked, giving a little smile.

Ricky stared up at him for a minute, creating a quiet, awkward silence. Before replying, she quickly looked at the two birds to her left, who had been listening and watching the whole time.

"As long as they're here," Ricky agreed, looking from the birds to Blue.

"Fine," The umbreon replied.

"If you do anything I don't like, I will actually kill you then," Ricky smirked.

"Alright," Blue rolled his eyes, "I'm going home now, see you tomorrow?"

"Sure."

The shiny umbreon gave one last smile, before he turned and made his way back home. Ricky watched until he disappeared, before she decided to get up herself.

She could hear the two flying types began to stretch their wings, rising to the skies. She felt them watching her, making sure she would get home. Before she reached the trail back to the forest, she gave one last look back, smiled, then continued on her way.


	7. The Outcome

"_No, no…" _Ricky paced across her room, _"This is all a big mistake. I shouldn't go to the beach, it's no longer safe. He could kill me, o-or hold me hostage or something to try and get the espeon to surrender!" _The espeon shook her head. _"Don't be stupid, that wouldn't happen. I'm not so important anyways; the alphas would never sacrifice the territory for someone like me."_

"Ricky!" Her father's voice called from elsewhere in the den, "You ok? You haven't come out of your room nearly all morning."

"I'm fine dad!" The teenager lied. She was so nervous about today that she only came out of room once that day, at breakfast. She had passed lunch and now it was around one, and she still was just as nervous about her decision. She really believed she shouldn't go; there was no telling what awaited her there. If she didn't, though, she'd feel guilty and regretful for not going.

The one positive point was that despite the type advantage, she was basically stronger than him. The umbreon, who peculiarly called himself Blue, could've actually beaten her if he wasn't so naive. It was as if he never had the training like she did, but why wouldn't he? She always thought the umbreon trained their selves like the espeon did, but was that a lie?

Ricky shook her head; she needed to stop wasting time thinking about this. Pacing around in her room obviously wasn't helping either, so she sluggishly dragged herself into the main room. To her satisfaction her cruel step-mom wasn't there, only her father who seemed to be telling something to young eevee Brandon.

"Mommy just likes to leave sometimes, buddy." The shiny espeon spoke reassuringly, quickly pressing his nose against his son's.

"I don't get too see her much though…" The eevee whined softly, wiping his tear-stained eyes.

The older male looked at his soon painfully, "I'll try to talk to her about it, how does that sound?"

"Thanks, daddy!" The eevee whispered, hugging his dad's lime-green leg. The leg's owner chuckled, his blue scleras falling to the brown fox, patting his head with his free paw.

"Anytime, son."

Ricky smiled thoughtfully at the scene. It reminded her of the many times when she was upset and her father was there to comfort her. He dealt with the situation so smoothly, and he was an excellent listener.

When the shiny espeon and young eevee pulled back from the hug, the older male's eyes caught sight of his daughter watching them.

"Nice to see you up."

Ricky beamed, "I've _been_ up, dad." The espeon rolled her similar blue scleras as she walked over to her brother and father.

"Do you have plans today?" Nick asked, looking at his daughter curiously.

"Yes." She answered. "Why?"

"I was just wondering, you kids seem to do everything these days." Her father replied, glancing between his two kids.

"I'm staying with daddy today!" Brandon chimed in, grinning up at his half-sister.

His sister chuckled, "That's great, Brandon."

The young fox Pokémon smiled quickly at his sister, before turning his gaze back to the shiny espeon.

"So, dad," He began, speaking quickly, "What are we going to do today?"

"Whatever you want." Nick nodded.

Ricky laughed quietly to herself, knowing her little brother Brandon, she was sure their father would soon regret doing whatever the imaginative little eevee wanted.

"Can I go with you guys?" Ricky asked, "Just for a little bit, at least."

Her father had his mouth open to respond, but Brandon beat him too it. "Yay! Daddy, can Ricky come too? Please?"

"Well…" Nick began playfully. Ricky knew perfectly well he was joking with Brandon, but the young fox thought he was being serious.

"Aww…come on dad, please!" Brandon pleaded, "She said only for a little bit…"

"Of course she can, I was joking." His father chuckled, ruffling his son's hair.

"Yes!" The eevee cheered, seizing his sister's front leg and pulling her near the exit of the den. "Come on, Ricky!"

"Coming," The lavender Pokémon rolled her eyes, claiming her arm back from her brother and following him outside. "Dad, are you coming?"

The shiny espeon replied, "Yes", before his kids made it out of the den; now unable to hear him.

"Oh!" Brandon said, running towards a tree and placing his front legs on it. "I want to climb the trees!" He wrapped his short brown arms around the tree in a bear hug, trying to pull himself up. The young fox's claws weren't long enough, forcing him back down each time he tried.

Ricky veered around the eevee, climbing on the said tree with perfect ease. She looked down at her brother's wide brown eyes as she sat comfortably on a tree branch.

"No fair!"

"Do you need any help?"

"No!" The eevee disagreed stubbornly, attempting to climb the tree yet again.

Soon after, the shiny espeon reappeared under the tree, staring strangely at his son. Once Ricky saw her father, she quickly jumped down from the tree branch and smiled to him.

"Hey dad," She began, "Brandon said he wants to climb trees."

"Don't you think I'm a bit too old for that?" Nick chuckled, looking from his son to his daughter.

"No, come on!" Ricky giggled. She grabbed Brandon by the scruff of his neck with her tail and placed him on her back, like her mother would always to do her. Immediately, the eevee lit up, wrapping his arms around his sister's soft neck.

"Go!" The eevee cheered as his sister sprung back up to the lowest branch of the tree. The two turned their heads to look back at their father on the ground, who was shaking their head at them.

"We haven't had a race like this since…-"

"-Brandon was three." Ricky finished for her dad, winking at him. Her and her dad used to race by treetops all the time, and when Brandon was born Ricky couldn't help but add him in.

Ricky gave one last look to her father before jumping to the next tree. She thought she heard him jump to the previous tree, but she didn't look back. With Brandon constantly laughing she kept jumping from tree to tree, following a familiar path below so she wouldn't get her family lost. She didn't know which path it was, and she could regret it.

"Don't let daddy catch up to us!" The espeon heard her brother's cries. She grinned; she wasn't going to let him catch up to her.

She took the trees that led her around curves and turns, trying to throw her dad off. It didn't work; he was used to her tactics, and was coordinating with them well.

As she jumped from one tree to another certain one, she began smelling something familiar.

"_Salt?"_ She wondered. _"I couldn't have taken that path…"_

As she jumped a few more trees with a confused and curious look, the smell grew stronger. She looked down at the path, it was all too familiar. If she had been paying attention, she would have noticed she was taking the path to the beach.

The only problem she would usually have with it was it was her and her mother's secret place, and to have them know about it wouldn't make her happy. The other problem, though, was when she got close enough she caught a glimpse of the beach.

A grayish-black color?

With blue?

"_Oh no…" _She thought to herself, she would have to think quickly.

She did, as she stopped at that one tree and looked back at her dad, two trees behind. Leaping forward, she went back to the tree she was previously on, leading them back.

As she passed her father on his tree as he stood still with a confused look, she called "Let's go back this way!"

She desperately hoped her brother hadn't noticed the scene she did, and that her father was now catching on and following her as she raced back.

Brandon said nothing the way back, and with the wind blowing fiercly in her ears from the change of direction she could barely hear anything but it. Was her father even following her?

As Ricky saw her den in the near distance, she sighed, she would know soon.

As she neared the tree closest to her den, she launched herself towards the ground, breathing heavily as she did. She could feel her brother's warm, quick breaths on her neck, his grip on her neck now slightly loosening.

"I guess you won!" Ricky slightly jumped as she heard her father's voice, as he now joined his kids on the ground.

She smiled at him, "Brandon and I always win."

"Yeah!" She heard her brother chimed in.

The espeon smiled to herself; for her and her brother's success and for the fact they both didn't seem to care much about her sudden change in course earlier.

"Brandon, can you please get off me?" Ricky asked her brother, "You're hurting my back a bit sweetie."

"Okay." Brandon replied, whispering an "I love you" in his sisters ear.

"You too." She breathed as he hopped off her back and onto the ground.

"So, dad!" The young eevee beamed at the shiny espeon, "What do you want to do next?"

"I don't know, buddy, I really would like too-"

"Let's play fight!" The eevee growled playfully, arching his rear end in the air and circling around his father.

"Brandon, I'm serious I just need to rest for a lit-"

"Bam!" Brandon cried, leaping onto his father and knocking him down. "Brandon saves the day!"

Nick chuckled, "Alright, alright! Can you please get off me now?"

"Fine…" The brown fox sighed, jumping off his father and brushing himself off.

"Dad?" Ricky spoke up. "Is it okay if I head on now?" She was sure she had seen that shiny umbreon at the beach, infact she didn't even know what time to come. He had never mentioned it yesterday, neither of them did- which was probably why she hadn't left yet.

The shiny espeon smiled at his daughter, "Head on out, just be back before sunset alright?"

"Sure, thanks dad!" Ricky nodded as her dad gave a kiss to her forehead. "Bye!" In seconds she was running back down the path they had just taken, but instead on the ground and not by trees.

"Bye!" Her father called, watching the espeon until she disappeared from his sight.

Continuing on with her path, Ricky began to feel nervous again. She was apparently going now, but scared of any outcome that could come out of this. Anything could happen, and this could be a stupid decision.

The lavender fox sighed, she needed to stop worrying so much, the other day he sounded completely nice.

"_That's what he wants you to think…"_ She thought, and then quickly shook her head, _"No, just shut up and keep going." _

As she went farther and farther down the path, her pace continuously changed from running to trotting, then to the other way around. She wasn't sure if she even wanted to continue on anymore. The smell of salt began to fill her nose again, the faint smell growing stronger and stronger as it did earlier.

"Be strong, it's fine." The espeon told herself out loud as she came to the clearing of the beach. She shut her eyes tight as her paws reached warm, comforting grains of sand.

Taking a few more steps, she heard nothing. She opened her eyes, curious.

There he was, his back turned to her, oblivious she was even there now.

She watched him questionably as his grayish-black paws dug into the sand. He clutched the two paws together, lifting them up in front of his eyes. Slightly opening the paws, he watched as the grains of sand slowly slid down and back to the ground where it just was.

Chuckling, Ricky caught his attention, his eyes snapping to her, shocked.

As his golden orbs met her pupiless scleras, he sighed, his body tensing down.

"I thought you were someone else…" He chuckled quietly, turning himself to face the espeon.

"Sorry."

"It's fine," He replied quickly, flashing a smiled at her. "So, how are you today, Ricky?"

"Where are Watson and Mrs. Nicole?" The espeon asked, searching around as she completely ignored Blue's question.

"In that tree over there." Blue pointed out, the two fox's turning their heads to see the bird Pokémon watching from the tree. Another swellow, slightly bigger than Nicole, accompanied them.

"Good." Ricky breathed, turning her back on the umbreon and watching the water. She didn't truly trust him, and wasn't too into this at the moment.

Blue, however, thought otherwise.

"So…" He began, "You going to answer my question?"

"What question?"

"You know," The shiny umbreon chuckled.

The espeon looked back at him, narrowing his eyes. "Splendid."

"Thank you," Golden eyes lit up, Blue now sitting beside Ricky.

She felt slightly uncomfortable, easing herself away at times just to have him do the same thing. Every time she would give him off a warning with her eyes, he would smirk at her.

"You don't like me do you?" He asked; turning his eyes away and watching the waves wash up onto the sand.

"No it's not that, it's just that-"

"You don't like me." The shiny umbreon smirked, placing his gaze back on the espeon.

Giving him a sweet smile, Ricky tried to reassure him. "I'm sorry… do you want to talk about anything?"

"How about you tell me a little bit about you?" The gray fox beamed.

"Well…" Ricky began, "I have a dad, step-mom, and a half-brother. I took a special defense class once, which explains why I beat you. I love coming here, being with my friends and family, reading to my half-brother Brandon, I am a vegetarian…and my favorite color is gray."

"That's pretty nice," Blue smiled, "If you want to know about me I have a mom, dad, and brother. My mom is the leader of the house and is very sweet, my dad makes the rules and he's an amazing parent, and my older brother is _very_ annoying. I love being with my friends too, and just having some adventure. I really don't care if I win or not at things and… my favorite color is gray too."

The espeon smiled, "What do you like about gray?"

"What do I like about it?" The shiny umbreon began, "Well you know it's just completely original,-"

"-hard to find, and perfectly in between like me." Ricky chipped in with Blue, the two finishing in on it together. Gold and blue eyes stared wide into each other, the two a slight bit shocked.

"You know that?" Blue asked the espeon.

"My mom told me that all the time," She nodded, "Except she said perfectly in between like you, not me."

The male stared at her in disbelief, "So did my mom."

"Wow," A smile pulled at the lavender fox's lips, "I didn't think anyone else knew that."

"Me either." The dark type chuckled. "My mom said they used to say that about the color all the time and I guess that's where she got it from."

"I guess we have quite a few things in common." Ricky pointed out.

"We do."

The female smiled warmly, "So, we never arranged a time to actually meet here…how long have you been here?"

"Oh, that." The umbreon chuckled slightly to himself. "I noticed that earlier, so I decided to come here this morning. This place is actually quite entertaining, never seen anything like it." As Blue finished that last sentence, he began to peer around the beach in amazement.

"Wow, you actually have the time to come here for such a long time?"

"Well, sometimes you find time to yourself when you're a pr-" Blue froze, staring at the confused espeon.

"A what?" She chuckled uncomfortably, becoming a bit worried herself of what he meant.

"Sorry," The shiny umbreon shrugged, "I was saying sometimes you find time to yourself when you're an_ umbreon_."

Ricky cocked an eyebrow at him suspiciously, "Oh, okay."

"Yea…" Blue thought of something else to talk about. "So… what have you done today?"

"I played with Brandon and my dad," She answered.

"What did you do?"

"Raced through the trees," Ricky chuckled as she remembered it.

"Sounds like fun!" The gray fox beamed.

The psychic type looked to him in confusion, "Does your family not do anything fun?"

"Well, not really…" Blue began, "My parents have a lot of work to do and I really don't get along with my brother too well."

"Brandon and I get along very well." The female grinned.

"Danny just gets on my nerves a lot…"

"Maybe because you two don't completely understand each other," Ricky added in.

"How can I understand him?" Blue rolled his eyes as he thought of his older brother.

"First try and talk to him, find things you both like, I'm sure you two can understand your differences."

"It's just that he gets on my nerves a lot, and he's always trying to attack me." Blue sighed, his gaze falling to the ground.

"Maybe that's his way of having fun with you," Ricky giggled a little, she seemed to be getting nowhere with Blue.

"Fine," The shiny umbreon rolled his golden eyes, "I'll try and talk to him."

"Thank you," Ricky beamed.

"You're welcome," Blue stated, "I know this is a bit of subject but anyways, how where you able to attack and move away from me so well that one time when I tried to attack you?"

Ricky smiled at him, "You just seem to be really cocky."

Blue raised an eyebrow, as if he wanted her to explain.

"Your stance isn't firm, you fidget too much, you get too frustrated easily, and you don't stay focused." She explained. "You need to work on the four f's."

The male fox smirked, "Why don't you teach me?"

"If you're a good student," Ricky chuckled, turning her gaze to meet his eyes.

Like many other times before, she was lost again. His eyes were a perfect golden color, not even a touch of another shade. Her eyes had no black, a breathtaking deep blue that looked so alive.

"Why does this always happen?" Blue asked, breaking the gaze and turning his head away from Ricky.

"What happens?"

"The eye staring."

"I don't know," The psychic type shrugged, "It is a little weird."

Blue didn't respond, and it became awfully quiet. A little awkward, actually.

"Watson!" A new voice cried, causing the two fox Pokémon to turn their heads immediately to the direction in which the sound emanated.

They looked to see the male swellow taking off into flight, rather low to that. It looked like he was chasing some white Pokémon, but Ricky and Blue couldn't be sure as the white blur whirred around and around.

"Mrs. Nicole!" Ricky called, running to the swellow who was watching the scene act out before her. "What's going on?"

"A Pokémon!" The swellow sobbed quietly, "It took Watson from us!"


	8. A Close One

"What?" Ricky whispered, slowly catching on to what was happening. Watson, the little taillow she had grown to love had been stolen- she just couldn't process it in her mind right. She would never let anything happen to him.

"Ricky." A soft voice broke out to the espeon. "We have to help."

Ricky turned to face the shiny umbreon, blue rings shinning along with the sunlight. He looked easily as worried as she was which tangled her to the fact that he barely even knew the bird Pokémon; especially not like she did.

"Please." The female swellow pleaded softly, her once proud eyes looking longingly at Ricky.

The psychic fox didn't even take time to hesitate, "Let's go." In a quick second she had spun on her heels, and was already mimicking the path of the Pokémon theft and the male swellow. Her decision was clear; she was absolutely going to help.

Mrs. Nicole, Mr. Terry, and Watson were always there for her; she was happy to be able to share the beach with them. She wouldn't come much in winter, but having them gone made it feel empty there- incomplete.

"I think they went this way!" Mrs. Nicole called from above, as she glided gracefully above the trees to get a better view. She would scan each area around her carefully, keeping a steady pace so she wouldn't become rushed and miss anything.

Ricky, however, was completely different. She had never gone on a "rescue" before, and was frantically looking around, becoming uneasy. At first she wondered how her swellow friend was able to do it, but since the bird Pokémon hunted by searching the skies, she wasn't confused all too long.

As they cut by several paths, obvious twigs were seen scattered across the ground they tracked. Trees nearby seemed to have clean cuts from some of their branches, indicating that the male swellow had gone in for an attack. They must've been somewhere nearby, from the clear indication of the fresh cuts.

Jolting to a stop after hearing what heard like voices, Ricky perked her head over to the side. She didn't have time to process who the voices belong too, as an unseen force jabbed into her backside, forcing her on her side.

Coughing from the dust that sprayed around her, and from the weight that was upon her, the lavender-coated feline shot her eyes upward. She met warm, apologetic golden eyes, followed by nervous breaths.

"Sorry…" Blue chuckled nervously, quickly lifting himself off of the female's side. Ricky had failed to notice he had even followed her, keeping quiet the whole time.

"It's okay…" The espeon approved, dusting the dirt off of her fur as she pulled herself up.

Brushing one last piece off of her right ear, she caught a glimpse of the golden orbs resting on her again. As she slowly lowered her paw, her pupiless blue scleras somehow met Blue's.

She was locked, there was something about his stare that got to her; it wasn't creepy, as she thought it would be- it was actually…well she couldn't find a word for it.

_Why does this always happen?_

Ricky chuckled to herself as she remembered Blue's words from earlier, her eyes dropping to the ground.

She was about to explain why to him, knowing he was probably confused at this point; but she suddenly remembered what she was doing.

Gasping at the realization that she had lost her focus, her eyes looked to the sky, hoping to find Mrs. Nicole.

No, the swellow was gone. It was just her and Blue now.

The worried mother swellow must have gone looking for the sound of the voices that Ricky had heard earlier, too anxious to wait for her eeveelution friends.

"What do we do now?" Blue interjected, causing Ricky to look back to him. He seemed to have realized the bird Pokémon's disappearance as well, his snout pointing to the sky.

The espeon shrugged, "We still have to help."

"Are you sure you don't want to go back?" The shiny umbreon looked at her worriedly. "I know these areas, and I'm dead sure we're in umbreon territory."

The psychic eevee froze, her heart slowly beginning to race. It was dangerous, far more dangerous than anything she had ever experienced. Blue was the only umbreon she had ever been around. He seemed to be pure-hearted, but she couldn't be sure about the other umbreon. One could come along and see the espeon, easily killing her. After all, you don't see a lavender coated Pokémon in umbreon territory every day.

Ricky took a slow, deep breath. "I-I still have to help find Watson though…"

The shiny umbreon smiled at the espeon's bravery and determination, stepping closer to her. "I'll help, and I'll make sure to keep you safe."

Ricky thought it was sweet of what he had said, but she wasn't convinced. Getting to the fact that she had totally crushed him in their previous and first battle, he probably wouldn't be so much of a protection. She didn't say anything too him, only giving him a thankful smile.

"Let's see if we can find any tracks!" Ricky suggested, skimming over the area around her. Not having wings like the swellow, she wasn't able to look on from above. Instead she would have to find any clues of where the Pokémon might have been. This was the only way she could think of that would help.

Several trees she passed had scratch marks cut into them. Obviously attacked twigs lay sprawled across the path.

The real thing that brought Ricky to shivers, however, were how deep and clean the tree cuts seemed to be. There was no way this was the father swellow, this was something else. If this was the Pokémon they were dealing with, they had to be _extremely_ cautious.

The footprints, however, seemed to calm her a bit more. They weren't sharp like the cuts in the trees, as if they belonged to a much softer looking Pokémon. As she followed them she became more and more worried as she noticed they were beginning to fade. Another track seemed to be covering them…a curved, thick track that only seemed to be a line type of sort.

A snake Pokémon?

The teenaged espeon was a bit more wary now, her pace subsiding to a much slower tune. Snakes didn't scare her, it was just the size of this one that did. Snakes _eat_ birds, birds like taillow.

"We have to hurry!" The espeon exclaimed, not evening giving a chance for Blue to respond as she broke off. She couldn't stand to think of losing Watson, or thinking what would become of his parents. They were proud, confident swellow who spent every moment they could with their only child.

The tracks became clearer as the two eeveelutions made their way farther and farther, the sound of voices once again drifting into their volumes.

"Over there!" Blue pointed out, as the two fox Pokémon rounded a corner.

In a small opening of a path were the two adult swellows, opposite them a white Pokémon with red markings. The white Pokémon wore a navy bandana on her head, bright red eyes slightly underneath. She had dark gray claws that grew from her forearms; they were long, sharp, and well taken care of. Ricky and Blue were sure this was the white blur that had snatched Watson from his parents, but the taillow was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is our son?" The male swellow cawed, rage indicative in his tone. His eyes were narrowed on the mongoose Pokémon, completely locked on its every move.

The clawed Pokémon snickered, her eyes glistening on humorously. "Oh, trust me. He's in great _hands_." Ricky was a bit thrown of by the way she used emphasis on hands, but quickly put it aside.

"Where is he?" The espeon growled as another side of her showed. The hair on the scruff of her neck was standing up, taking a step towards the normal type.

The zangoose didn't even flinch, instead continuing to find everything completely amusing. "A friend of mine has him, don't worry about him."

"Help!" A small cry echoed throughout the silence, all five heads jerking to have a look behind the clawed Pokémon. The small taillow was spotted, trying to run towards his parents before a long, smoky black tail snaked around him, pulling him to the owner of the tail.

The owner was just as intimidating as the zangoose; long red fangs and a forked tongue that were the main feature of his face, with yellow markings on his eyes and forehead, follow by purple markings surrounding it in a sort of complement. A purple lightning bolt shape seemed to be on his chest, resembling the lightning shaped red M on the zangoose's chest. Yellow spots covered his body to the very sharp point of his tail, which was half red- half black. His matching red eyes stared gently down at the taillow wrapped in his grip, but you could tell he was being much the opposite of gentle.

"Let my son go!" The male swellow roared. In an instant he was in front of the seviper, using his talons to try and wound the snake Pokémon.

It was going rather well, the grip on the taillow was beginning to loosen, the seviper trying his best to sustain to pain. Just as quick as it happened, however, the zangoose had gripped the swellows feet, hurling him away from her partner.

That was when both of the swellow went in. Their target wasn't the zangoose, but rather the seviper that had their son in his possession. The zangoose positioned herself to attack again. Ricky noticed, her blue scleras locked on the unknowing mongoose Pokémon.

As the white Pokémon lunged herself forward, a lavender blur rammed into her side, sending the two plummeting onto the ground.

"Get off me!" The zangoose growled from beneath Ricky, throwing her off with pure force.

As the espeon used her balance to gracefully land herself on the ground, she made eye contact with the mongoose Pokémon. The female was older, but just a young adult; she was clearly stronger and more experienced than Ricky. She knew it would be complicated to defeat this enemy, but she was determined to do it.

The psychic fox growled, before throwing herself back onto the older female, biting into her shoulder. Ricky was never into fights all too much, and hated seeing others in pain. After what she did to Blue she went more carefully with things, her bite on the zangoose wouldn't draw blood.

The zangoose, however, had other plans. She was clearly not afraid to hurt, as her free shoulder pulled her left arm back, ready to cut the oblivious espeon with her sharp claws.

It was all a flash, the zangoose's howl echoing throughout the forest, as a gray Pokémon dug its teeth into her left shoulder, pulling it back before it could do certain harm to Ricky.

Blue always rumbled with his friends, the only real fights he ever had where with his older brother Danny. They never even got that rough either, the brothers were left with minor bruises, but nothing more than serious.

This situation, however, was serious. This pair was dangerous, and extremely odd at that. He never saw a zangoose and seviper together, they were natural wild enemies. It was peculiar and a bit scary that the two would be together and defend each other. Another catch to it was that they were natural Hoenn bred Pokémon, how where they in Johto?

Blue was interrupted from his thoughts as he heard a cheer from a few feet over. His grip on the zangoose's shoulder dropped, as he rose his gaze over to see the swellow rising to the air. He could now see a smaller bird with them, sticking close to the female swellow. The seviper below them had several scratch marks from the talons of the birds, but his strong hide was sure to keep him in good health.

Ricky had noticed this as well, quickly jumping off the zangoose and edging away from it. The two girls had no serious damage done either, just a few scratch marks on their forearms.

The zangoose placed herself back on her hind legs, sulking over to her seviper companion. The two red eyes suddenly bore into Blue's golden, the shiny umbreon nervously stepping back with Ricky.

The seviper chuckled, despite his disappointed state. "Your parents would be disappointed in you, Thomas."

Blue froze at the sound of his real name, his whole body turning icy cold. They knew him, and they could've just admitted his true identity.

"Thomas?" Ricky questioned, looking from the zangoose and seviper to Blue.

The mongoose and snake Pokémon didn't answer, simply nodding and running off before anyone could stop them. The swellows looked quite disappointed that the two had gotten away, but looked thankful enough to have their son back in their wings.

"Watson, I'm so sorry I let that happen…" Mrs. Nicole admitted, looking down at her son who was cuddling close to her chest.

The small bird sniffed, "It's okay, mom…"

Mr. Terry grinned down at his son, his wing around his mate. "Let's get you home now, alright?"

The little taillow slowly nodded, still a little shaken from the previous events. He slowly rose to the air with his parents, the three birds turning to the lavender and gray fox Pokémon below.

"Thank you, Ricky, and you too, Blue." Nicole thanked them, looking down at them gratefully. "Let's get you two home too, how about it?"

The two teenagers nodded. They were both eager to just get back to the beach.

The three bird Pokémon nodded, making a notion with their wings as if telling the teenagers to follow them. Ricky and Blue could hear the three birds talking above, probably chatting about how lucky and happy they were to have their son back.

Blue had glanced over at Ricky he didn't know how many times, worried at what she was thinking. She wasn't saying anything, instead looking on ahead, and averting her eyes away from Blue. Was she doing it on purpose?

He shrugged, still nervous. What if she knew that there was an umbreon prince named Thomas- a _shiny_ umbreon prince. Blue took a deep breath as he tried to put his thoughts elsewhere, ready just to get back to the beach.

Sure enough however, they did. The sight of a familiar place brought comfort to them, especially to Ricky to know she was no longer in umbreon territory. She found herself extremely thankful an umbreon hadn't shown up in the act, and was hoping the little commotion they had had didn't attract any attention.

As they arrived at the beach, the bird Pokémon quickly excused themselves, wanting for their son to get some good sleep. They apologized for having to leave, since Nicole has promised Ricky she would be there when Blue was around. For some reason, however, Ricky didn't seem to mind anymore. Something about the shiny umbreon was getting too her, and she wasn't so worried about _him_ hurting her.

When the bird Pokémon had left to roost, the espeon turned to Blue, ready to ask him some things.

"Blue?" She asked, her voice causing the shiny umbreon to jump slightly. "Did you know those Pokémon?"

Blue smiled weakly at her, not knowing what to say. "No."

Ricky tilted her head, giving off a look of confusion. "Then why did they call you 'Thomas'"?

"Uh- I don't know." The shiny umbreon lied. "I guess they had me confused with someone else."

"Oh…" Ricky breathed. "I have another question."

"Shoot it."

"Aren't zangoose and seviper enemies?" The espeon asked, her blue scleras eyeing the navy-gray fox curiously.

Blue calmed a bit, more relieved that the question didn't revolve around him this time. "Correct, they are. I've been thinking that since they are Hoenn Pokémon, that their trainer might have released them here. They could've had the same trainer, making them dependent on each other so that's why they stick together. That's my theory, but I may be wrong."

Ricky nodded in agreement. "Yea, I guess that could be true…"

"Eventful day, huh?" Blue piped in, trying to get onto a different subject. Ricky looked up at him humorously, the shiny umbreon smirking at her.

The lavender fox chuckled, "You got that right."

Blue smiled at her, sitting down as his back began to ache. "Could I ask you a question?"

The espeon perked her ears up, looking at the umbreon curiously, yet again. "Sure."

"Do you like me?" The shiny umbreon asked. "I mean, now that you've gotten to know me a bit more?"

The espeon smiled warmly at the older male, "I guess so."

"Are you still going to teach me about the four f's?" He chuckled, remembering their not so entertaining greeting from earlier. He took a liking to this espeon, kind of like he did to his friends Elizabeth and Colton. The bond was different with Ricky though, he didn't know why. Something about her made him take a liking to the espeon, even if she _was_ the enemy.

"Of course I will." Ricky nodded. "How about tomorrow though? I really think I should go home and rest, sorry we couldn't hang out much today."

"I understand." Blue nodded back, imitating Ricky. She giggled quietly to herself, admiring his humor.

"Bye, Blue." She stated, giving him a smile before she began to head on her way.

"Bye, Ricky." The umbreon replied, taking off on his own way in a similar manner.

The espeon stuck her tongue out at the teenager's childlike act, receiving a chuckle from his side.

As she jerked her head around playfully so she wasn't looking at him, she smiled to herself. Blue was different than the others, and she was beginning to like him, but she still wasn't sure she could trust him. After all, he _was_ the enemy.


	9. Gaining Trust

"I wonder where Blue is…" Ricky wondered aloud, scanning the beach for the third time. She had arrived at the beach just earlier that day, not even minutes ago.

It was Saturday, and she was originally supposed to meet with her friends today, to make up for missing time with them Thursday. It turns out all of them had something to do with their families that day, or with each other.

Mitch and Wanda had wanted to spend a day alone together, and that was one of their only free days so they scheduled then. They apologized to their other friends, but Ricky and Dillon and Brooklyn understood completely. Dillon had to spend time with his mother for her birthday and Brooklyn and her family were going on vacation. Even though Brooklyn wouldn't be back for a few days, the friends would try to meet again tomorrow. Leaving one of their espeon friends out when they met was never the same, but they usually found some way.

Sighing in realization that her new friend probably wasn't going to be coming anytime soon, she decided to rest on the warm sandy beach.

Stretching herself out and then quickly laying down on her back, she peered up at the sun. Most others would have turned their eyes away from the piercing hot rays of the sunlight, not Ricky. Espeon like her were the Sun Eevee. Staring at the sun actually brought her comfort, and it gave her strength. She knew it was probably the same for Blue when he gazed at the moon and stars, something Ricky rarely ever did.

"_Blue wants me to teach him the four f's…" _Ricky wondered, gazing at the clouds in the sky. _"Maybe I should practice before he gets here, just too be prepared."_

Picking herself up off her back, the lavender fox spotted a tree about twelve feet ahead of her- this was her target.

The espeon slowly lowered herself into her attack position- the way her father always taught her. She needed to keep her body in the perfect posture, to where she could stalk the prey. Her stance was to stay calm, stable, _firm_. Her eyes need not to wander, they needed to be locked, and they couldn't glance at anything in the distance. They needed to be perfectly still on her prey, _focused._ Her tail was too stay tugged behind her, not on the ground but not rose above her. She didn't need for it to wave behind her, she needed for it to stay still- she didn't need to_ fidget. _Lastly, if she missed, all she needed to do was try again- not get _frustrated_.

Ricky took a deep, quiet breath, before she began stalking her "prey". When she didn't have a _real_ target she often substituted with something else, usually a tree or a bush or something.

She took slow, quiet steps- barely heard along the soft granites of sand. Each step took her closer to the tree, until she was just three and a half feet in front of it. She stopped, eyeing the target up and down.

The espeon began on a head-on sprint towards the tree, reaching it and using her iron tail on it. It made contact, shaking the tree slightly and causing leaves to fall. When she made contact, she did a backflip from the tree to where she faced it again. This time, it was psybeam's turn. The psychic rays of energy emanating from the red jewel on her forehead shot rapidly at the tree, causing more shaking.

The espeon never even smirked with how well she was doing; this was how she stayed focused.

Peeling out her long, sharp claws from her skin- she lashed them out at the tree. Her cut was her best move- she had known it for as long as she could remember. The cut made long, clean cut marks into the tree- bringing satisfaction to Ricky. Still, she stayed focused, and continued to use her moves on the tree in front of her.

The espeon knew four moves by heart like most other Pokémon did, but one she rarely ever used. She had gained the move from genetics of her mother, who had it passed down from all her family. Last resort- it was never Ricky's choice of a move, and she hated practicing it. She was so talented at it, however, that she never forgot about it. She swore to herself she would never use it unless it was real danger.

Giving an iron tail to a dead branch hanging from the tree, a small gust of wind blew her way.

Espeon could see others movement with just feeling the wind- their fur was sensitive and Ricky knew someone was behind her, watching her.

Turning sharply on her heels to find who it was, her nose meeting another warm nose, blue sclera's meeting golden irises.

"Hi." Blue whispered, smirking at Ricky's sudden shock.

The espeon was still in shock from the umbreon's appearance, she hadn't expected him now. She kept staring up into his eyes, until she slowly came into realization her nose was touching his.

Pulling away quickly, a slight blush was indicative at her cheeks- she had come close to kissing Blue.

"I've never seen your basic moves," Blue stated, "You're very strong."

"Thanks," Ricky nodded, still blushing.

"So…" Blue began, noticing how awkward it had become. "How was your day today?"

Ricky gave him an odd look; she had expected him to ask if she would be training him today. It was still a bit different having an enemy as a friend, but he still brought comfort to her.

Giving him a warm smile, she decided to answer before making it even more awkward. "It's been doing great, how was your day, Blue?"

"Ah, you know. Same as usual." The shiny umbreon returned the smile. "My brother hasn't bothered me either, so I guess it's been better."

"That's great." The espeon replied, her eyes shooting out to the water. The waves were getting greater and stronger, and the clouds were starting to fog up the sky. It was supposed to storm today. "You sure we need to stay out here?"

The shiny umbreon turned his gaze to the sky the espeon was staring at, the wind beginning to pick up. "It should be fine for a bit, don't you think?"

The lavender cat raised a brow at the older male, "I suppose. What are you doing here on a Saturday anyways?"

The shiny umbreon kept his eyes on the roaring seas, trying to think of an answer. It wasn't like he could say, 'I'm a prince and my parents are the alphas and they are always gone and let me wander around and meet my enemies and befriend them. I never have to do anything!' Shaking his head, he thought of the only reply that sounded reasonable. "My family really doesn't do much together, so I'm almost always out of the house."

The psychic feline titled her head at Blue; it seemed as if he was hiding something. She wasn't stupid, she had seen people lie like this all time, but she chose to ignore it. Reason why were unknown to her, she just felt as if it didn't matter that much.

"My family does stuff together, but just my dad and half-brother Brandon." She sighed. "My step-mom is always out of the house, she never does anything with us. Brandon is her own son and it's as if he barely even knows her."

"Let me guess," Blue chuckled, "She's an evil, wicked, step-mother like in all those fairytales." Taking his eyes off the sea to look at Ricky, he immediately felt regret. He had hit a weak spot on the younger teenager, her eyes half-lidded and wondering aimlessly.

"Yes."

"_Arceus, Blue, you're a freaking idiot." _The umbreon thought, watching Ricky hold back tears. "Hey, I'm sorry for that." He whispered gently, taking a step towards the girl.

Ricky shook her head, "You shouldn't be. It's not your fault she acts the way she does." She hesitantly looked up, giving a smile to reassure the worried navy gray fox.

"I shouldn't have acted like it was funny though," Blue shook his head in disgust, reseating himself in front of Ricky. "So I should be sorry."

"No you shouldn't."

"Yes, I should."

"No."

"You're determined aren't you?" Blue chuckled softly. Ricky's personality was so new to him, but he was used to it in some. She was very straight-forward and honest, like Colton was. She and Elizabeth were both fun and caring at the same time. She even brought annoyance to him like his own brother Danny would, but in a good way.

Ricky returned the laugh, and then changed the subject. "So, you still want me to teach you about the four f's?"

The male nodded, "Of course."

"Alright!" Ricky cheered as she stood up, fully anxious now. "First, tell me what your four basic moves are."

"I only have four though, you have like, twenty!" The shiny umbreon pouted, slightly jealous of the espeon. He had learned she was very good at psybeam, cut, and iron tail- yet she also had the power of psychic, shadow ball, and heal bell. He wasn't even sure an espeon could learn heal bell.

"Basic moves are the moves you're exceedingly well at," The espeon began, "My four are indeed psybeam, cut, iron tail, and last resort. The other moves I know such as psychic, shadow ball, and heal bell are natural gifts I have. They come not from training, but from my generation of family. Last resort is both my basic and natural moves, but I refuse to use it on minor standards."

The shiny umbreon was awestruck; he stared at the confused female with wide, golden eyes. "_You _know last resort?" He had heard of the move countless amount of times, none of his family knew such a move. The brothers of the military unit, Paul and Henry, knew this move. They practiced it so much that the move was as if unable to dodge. Anyone they used it on could face certain death, you would be lucky just to get out alive.

"Yea, but like I said I refuse to use it…" She paused, meeting Blue's eyes. "It's very dangerous, even for the one who uses it. I'm only sixteen, I'm not a strong, and wise adult- it could hurt me if I miss used it."

"I understand that, I know some umbreon with that move, but their very skilled with it." Blue mentioned, as he stood up himself.

"You ready?" Ricky asked, noticing his movement.

The shiny umbreon nodded without hesitation, "Yes ma'am."

Ricky eyed him carefully, watching his humorous expression, "You're a funny one…Now tell me the four moves you are _best_ at."

The umbreon thought for a few seconds, before answering with "Quick attack, shadow ball, confuse ray, and faint attack."

"Ah." Ricky began. "Those are very common moves, rather easy to learn. That's a good move set for an umbreon."

"Why so?" Blue perked up curiously.

Ricky smiled at his question, a little amused by his interest. "Well, umbreon are well known for their speed- and quick attack would be a lot stronger than usual with one. Shadow ball is a basic move that all eeveelutions can learn as eevee, thus making it a well-known- popular move that can be strengthened over years. Confuse ray would be a great move for a higher level Pokémon; it can be used to make the opponent vulnerable and easier to defeat. Faint attack is a great move as well, being able to see past moves like detect and protect."

Mouth slightly agape, Blue replied "You know a lot."

"My mother taught me a lot, before she died." Ricky smiled in the memory of her mother. Sure, she was only four when her mother had passed, but she remembered everything her mother had taught her. She did cry sometimes when she thought of her mother, but she usually stayed strong unlike her father- he couldn't help but feel guilt over his old mate's death. He did everything he could to try and cure her of her sickness, but it made no effect. There _was_ _no_ cure.

Before Blue could respond to her, Ricky had gone back to their old subject. "So, you did see how I was using my attack on that tree earlier, correct?" Receiving a nod from the blue-ringed umbreon, she continued on. "Well, that was my use of the four f's. Do you remember the first time we met, when we battled?" Blue nodded again. "Well, I wasn't really in focus- which broke everything. I was weaker than usual; I am surprised you didn't get an attack on me. I was moving my tail too much, getting entirely too worried, and my footing was off."

"You're footing was off?" Blue laughed. "Did you see me?"

Ricky smirked, "I guess I'm just lucky I had someone with a lot less focus than I did to battle."

"You're funny," Blue beamed.

The espeon nodded, grinning in return. "So, why don't we start on the easiest of the four f's: fidgeting?" Leading Blue over to the tree she had been practicing on earlier, she began to instruct him again. "When I was using this as my "target", I didn't move my tail once. My ears stayed in perfect contact, and I didn't shift footing too much. It may not seem easy, but it really is compared to the others."

As Ricky got into a proper attack stance, she whispered "Follow me" to Blue.

Examining her posture for a moment, the umbreon slowly began to copy her, looking at her ever so often from the side to make sure he was right. He kept his tail down like she did, ears laid back against his head, and paws perfectly still.

The lavender fox smiled, approving. "Good, now let's try to see about your focus." She gently put her paws on Blue's head as she got out of her attack position, turning his head towards the tree. "Keep your eyes on it now, not me. Don't move your eyes for anything in the background, just focus on the tree and anything moving around you. The most important thing to do is to _never_ lose your focus- or you're at a horrible disadvantage."

Blue nodded, but Ricky quickly scolded him. "You're losing focus." He shot her a look that said 'seriously?', but as soon as she narrowed her eyes at him he looked back to the tree.

"That's more like it. Now, let's move on to firm." Ricky examined Blue's body, trying to find if he was already firm or not. "Looks like you've got that down; just keep your body strong- don't let yourself get too strong on your posture or you could fall."

Blue remembered to stay in focus, so said nothing as he continued staring on at brown bark. He felt somewhat like a moron for doing this, but if it's what Ricky wanted him to do- he would do it.

"Now, the last is one that you always have to remember- frustrated." Ricky explained to the shiny umbreon, who was still focusing like he was told. "Let's say you used shadow ball, and you missed the target. You shouldn't get frustrated, just try again. If you get frustrated, you will lose focus, firm, and fidgeting skills."

Blue didn't nod, he didn't speak- he was staying focused. Ricky smiled at this, "Why don't you try shadow ball then?"

The shiny umbreon lifted his snout to the sky. Handsome, golden orbs still locked on the target as told to do. His mouth opened slightly, as he pulled in all the energy he could. Quickly, a ghostly purple-black ball emanated from his mouth. In an instant, he used all his power to shoot it at the tree, making flawless contact and shaking the tree like Ricky had done earlier.

This time, Blue finally looked at Ricky- smiling as he awaited a response to his success.

"That was great, Blue!" Ricky nodded in approval. "Now, let's work on the frustration with something that _can_ move."

The navy gray fox titled his head inquisitively, but soon caught on as he noticed Ricky backing away a bit. "You want me to attack you?"

The blue-eyed girl nodded as a small smirk sprayed across her face. Blue knew she was going to try her best to make him frustrated, and he was a bit nervous. He wanted to show Ricky that he was strong too, and he was hoping he wouldn't get frustrated if his attacks missed her.

Speaking no more, the espeon got in her defense position- and the shiny umbreon got in his attack position. The two had their eyes deadlocked on each other, as if it was their first battle all over again.

In ways it wasn't: they weren't there to attack each other. The thought of being enemies hadn't crossed their minds in a while; they were considering each other friends.

Blue decided to use quick attack this time. Ricky had said umbreon would be better with it due to their natural speed ability.

Taking charge towards Ricky, the umbreon was surprised when she didn't move. In the few split seconds he charged at her, she stared- but at the final moment she moved out of the way, Blue barely even grazing her.

The gray fox didn't go out of focus, not becoming frustrated as well. Facing the espeon again, a shadow ball was whirled her way.

Again, however, the lavender feline moved out of the way at the last second.

Keeping calm and not becoming frustrated, the dark type shot another shadow ball at Ricky. Flawless like the first two dodges, she brought amazement to Blue again.

The shiny umbreon was close to losing it all, but somehow kept it all fine. He had to think of a new idea, and quick.

It hit him as quick as ever: why not could combine his moves? By using shadow ball on the ground below her she would move out of the way- but before she could he would try quick attack on her, and it would possibly be a success.

Putting the plan into action, Blue shot the shadow ball at the ground- the espeon slightly moving but not seeing her opponent from the movement of the sand.

In an instant the blue scleras came in contact with the golden orbs, the only sight in the dust.

They swerved to the right, to the left, back to the right.

Then, she found them in front of her, the male Pokémon slamming into her side: throwing her a few feet over.

She recovered quickly, the blow just knocking her slightly out of breath.

"Nice job," She coughed, struggling as she picked herself back up.

Blue was still a bit worried for her safety, however. "Are you ok?"

Ricky nodded, "I'm fine, don't worry." Blue nodded- yet he still wasn't entirely sure if she was right. He knew she was strong, but he had hit her rather hard- and she was smaller than him.

"Why don't we go again?" Ricky asked, now acting as if she was never even hit. Blue stared on at her in disbelief.

"I won't hurt you again."

"You won't." She winked. "This time, I'll fight back."


	10. Abuse

Waking up after a good long sleep always sucked, especially for Ricky.

Moaning at the rude awakening that must've woken her, she rolled in her bed, trying to cover her ears from whatever noise would come next.

To her surprise, however, none did.

"_Somebody must've dropped something…"_ She thought to herself, thinking about the clumsy members of her family.

Food that must've been from breakfast earlier still lingered in the den, Ricky catching just whiffs of the meat she hated. She knew then she had overslept, but today she just wasn't in the mood to get up at the moment.

Curling herself under her blue blanket, she tried to find a more comfortable spot to sleep in.

She rolled, turned, flipped over many times, went on her side, went on her back, even curling in a ball wouldn't work. In frustration she had even thrown her blanket off from above her, the soft fabric flying across her room in a heap.

Sighing, Ricky knew it was time to get up. No worries for her, however. It had become a naturally tendency for her to get up often; she was now becoming extremely used to it. Brandon would always wake her up before breakfast, unless he had overslept himself.

The house was so quiet though, had everyone overslept?

The question began to process through Ricky's mind, daring her to go and see. Her blue scleras eyed the exit to her room ever so often, waiting for any sound to come. Someone had to be awake to have made that noise, unless there was someone else in their house…

This time Ricky got off of her bed, cautiously making her way to the exit of her room and easing around the corner.

Her blue scleras instantly met violet ones. The violet eyes bore into hers, something secretive behind them.

Ricky wasn't so focused on the eyes, however, more on the being attached to them.

The well-kept, lavender coat, those violet eyes of course, the oddly long fork split tail.

It was Rachel.

Another weird fact had also begun to run through Ricky's brain. Rachel was staring _right at_ Ricky's door.

The adolescent espeon didn't become extremely worried though. Her father or brother hadn't spoke of going anywhere today as far as she knew, and they still had to be here; therefore preventing Rachel from bringing any harm to Ricky.

She still had her doubts about the concept, though. Why on Johto would Rachel be so intent on seeing Ricky that morning that she had chosen to sit there and stare at the entrance to her room all morning? She could've just walked in and woke Ricky is she wanted to see her.

Then again, Rachel never would come into Ricky's room.

An awkward silence suddenly flowed through the room, the air becoming thick. All thoughts of what exactly was going on where keeping Ricky occupied from even speaking, while Rachel just creepily smiled at her step-daughter.

Yeah, something was up.

"Ricky, good morning!" Rachel cheered, purring in joy.

Okay, something was _definitely_ wrong with Rachel.

She had a plan, and Ricky knew it.

"Morning…" Ricky responded, her voice quiet and uninterested. Many times her eyes would quickly glance to the entrance of her dad and brother's room. Hoping, _praying_, that they would come out and rescue her from the evil that was Rachel.

"What's on your mind?" Rachel asked; the joy still etched on her face. She had taken careful note of what Ricky was doing, her fork split tail swaying back and forth behind her.

The question that had been dying to come out finally found its way into Ricky's reply. "I was just wondering where dad was."

This brought an even wider smile on Rachel's face. "He went out with his friends today. You know he never gets too anymore."

Ricky ignored that statement. "And Brandon?"

"He went with Jacob and his mother to Pratt's birthday party," Rachel purred yet again, "They won't be back for a while."

Ricky gulped.

She now knew the reason behind Rachel's odd joy.

There was a good probability Ricky would leave this house today with scars; whether they were visible or not.

"Oh," Ricky paused, searching for something to say that would kill time, "Uh…er… What was that noise I heard just a minute ago?"

The peculiar female blinked innocently, tilting her head to the side. "What noise, dear?"

_Dear._

Even words this sweet were really killing Ricky. Rachel only acted like this when she wanted revenge, calling people sweet and polite things. Ricky didn't know what she did to make Rachel livid, but she knew Rachel was using this alone time to get her payback.

"I heard a noise just a minute ago, "Ricky began, "Seeing as you are the only other one in the house, I suspect you had something to do with it."

Bad move.

Rachel cocked a brow, the joyful expression being wiped clear off of her face. She had Ricky right where she wanted her now. "So you're _blaming_ me?" Even the joy in her tone had been replaced by a stern harshness.

Ricky was already thinking off all the cruel things Rachel was going to do to her, trying to hold back the tears that ever so threatened to pour out. "No! I didn't say that!"

The older feline narrowed her eyes, eyebrows furrowing. "It sounded like you did."

"I didn't…I-I promise…" Ricky replied, her eyes looking around Rachel for anyway to escape the den. "I'm sorry but I really need to be going somewhere."

Rachel's violet eyes watched the adolescent girl carefully. "Why so sudden?"

"Huh?"

Rachel was on the verge of growling, slightly baring some of her teeth already. "Why do you suddenly want to leave?"

Ricky gasped.

Rachel was catching on to her plan.

"I had something planned," Ricky quickly responded, wanting her stepmother to believe her.

Rachel cocked a brow, eyes still narrowed at her mate's daughter. "Oh? Where were you planning to go?"

Ricky instantly thought of the beach: her and her mother's one secret place from any of her family, her safe haven from her cruel step-mother, her secret friendship with Blue…

"I-I can't tell you…"

Rachel growled, but only a small growl emanated from her chest. "_Where?"_

"I can't tell you," Ricky sighed, her eyes dropping to the ground… "It's a secret between my mother and me."

A smile splattered across the older female's face; except this time in a more sinister way. "You can't have a secret with a _dead_ person, Ricky…"

The adolescent female froze, flabbergasted. Her step mother would always say cruel things, _but never_ had she put so much emphasis and went into so much detail on Rose's death.

"No…" Ricky whispered, but it was loud enough to just reach Rachel's earshot.

The smile on the stepmother grew more in depth. "She's…_dead_…Ricky…"

"Rachel-"

"Your mother is _dead_, you weakling! Get _over_ it!"

"Shut up!" Ricky screamed.

A paw struck across her face, "Don't tell me what to do, _brat_!"

A cold pain washed over Ricky's left cheek, causing her to bring her own paw up to it. Luckily there was no blood, and Rachel had kept her claws retracted.

Shaking, Ricky looked up into dark, amused violet eyes.

"You will never compare to Rose Black…" Ricky growled; the sudden darkness in her surprising her stepmother.

The younger feline took this chance to escape, running past her stepmother and out into the world. She didn't stop, though, instead taking the left path.

Of course she would choose the path that she remembered so well, to run to the one place that still held her mother.

Running down the trail that led to the beach usually took around ten minutes, with all of its twists and turns and whatnots. Since Ricky was actually running this time, however, she made it there much quicker.

She wanted to get away from the cruel wrath of Rachel, and closer to the angelic memory of her mother.

As her small paws found their way into the soft, warm sand, they brought the usual comfort they always would.

This didn't stop Ricky from running, though.

She kept running to the shade tree, collapsing in the shade as she reached it seconds after reaching the beach.

She burrowed her head into her limbs as she lay across the ground, crying. Her cheek still slightly burned from the brutal slap she had received from her stepmother. Her body shivered and shook just from the shock of it all.

Slightly picking her head up, she eyed the spot beside her dearly, rubbing her paw on the sand carefully.

"Mom…" She whispered, a small smile daring to tug at her lips.

"_Ricky, please be careful!" Rose called, biting her lip as she watched her daughter jump from tree to tree with her dad._

_The four year old eevee giggled, ignoring her mother's words. She followed her shiny espeon father as he jumped from four different trees, laughing along with his firstborn._

"_Nick!" Rose pleaded, stepping forward. _

_Her mate ignored her just as much as her daughter did._

"_I'm going to get you daddy!" The boastful little eevee cheered, gliding across one tree to the one her dad sat on. _

_Her mother kept her lilac eyes locked on her daughter worriedly, her tail shifting uncomfortably behind her. _

"_Oh no!" Nick cried, his eevee daughter wrapping herself around his leg in order to prevent him from escaping her._

"_I got you!" Ricky growled playfully, trying her best to make her chocolate eyes look intimidating._

_The two howled in laughter, hugging each other in the tree limb above while the declawed cat below stared at them, concern still etched across her face._

_Nick's blue eyes caught sight of his mate's lilac. He smiled warmly at his wife, enjoying the few months they actually had left to be a family._

"_Alright, Ricky," Nick chuckled after he and his daughter's laughing had thinned out, "Let's get down before your mother has a heart attack."_

_The cub chuckled, "Alright daddy…"_

_Nick was the first to jump down, succeeding in doing so. After seeing his daughter hadn't followed, he looked back up to see her pouncing over to the tree closer to her mother._

_As she landed on the thick limb, she looked amusingly down at her mother. "See? I told you it was safe, mama!"_

_Irony seemed to strike as soon as Ricky was about to jump down from the tree; she slipped, causing her to hit the ground harshly._

"_Ricky!" Rose cried, her and her mate hurrying over to their fallen child._

_The little girl was alright, but was wincing at her throbbing left paw. "Ouch…" Her whine sounded weak, a few silent tears finding their way down her cheeks._

_Her parents were already at their child's side, Rose taking the eevee's paw into her own and examining it._

_Ricky looked up at her mother, cheeks stained with fresh tears. "Mama, is it broken?"_

"_No," Rose quickly responded, looking at the limb closely, "You did bruise it though; let me take care of it."_

_Ricky nodded, her mother leaving her side and approaching a bush nearby. Most of the bushes were occupied with pink berries, while the one she was focused on had blue ones instead._

_She picked only two off, quickly returning with them._

_She held one out to her daughter, who stared at it questionably._

"_Eat it."_

_Without hesitating, Ricky took it with her other paw, plopping it into her mouth and chewing its sweet juices._

_Rose nodded to her daughter. "Good. That will help the pain for twenty-four hours' time. The bruise will still be there for a bit, which is why I brought this second oran berry."_

_As Ricky finished swallowing the berry, she felt the pain in her paw slowly numb. "You're a genius, mama."_

"_Thank you Ricky," The lavender feline smiled, "Just remember that every time you're in pain." Ricky didn't notice when her mother and father exchanged glances, their secret still not known to their young daughter._

Ricky began to eat the oran berry she had taken from a bush beside the shade tree, eating it quickly in hope that it would help cease the pain in her cheek.

She remembered everything her mother ever told her. Ricky didn't know it then, but her mother just wanted her daughter to know everything she could teach her before she passed.

Her mother used to be a trainer's Pokémon. She was used for many Pokémon contests, explaining the reason the trait of the move last resort was passed on to Ricky.

Her trainer never intended to use her for fighting, thus having his espeon declawed.

One day while he was exploring a forest around Johto, he and his espeon were attacked by a group of gligar. While most of their poison was injected in Rose's trainer, they had also poisoned Rose as well, just not as much.

Rose and her trainer had become very weak, being found by another trainer and his Pokémon. The new trainer and his Pokémon drove all of the gligar off, taking Rose and her trainer to the emergency room.

For the espeon's trainer, though, it was too late.

The poison injected in him had been too much, killing him.

Rose, being his only Pokémon, was released in the wild. Before her release, though, they drained all of the poison out of her as well.

Or so they thought.

The one tiny thing the hospital nurses has missed was the gligar needle injected into her skin, leaving her in the wild with the poison still slowly draining into her body.

Shortly after being in the wild, Rose had taken it out, thinking there wasn't enough poison to kill her.

Time passed after these incidents and she had met and married the love of her life: Nick. They soon had their first child Ricky, and the future seemed bright. It was until the one day sometime after Ricky's fourth birthday that things started happening.

Rose began throwing up blood, passing out at random moments; it became so bad that Nick and Rose went to the nearest doctor to see what was wrong. As they did, the doctor told them the poison had been spreading in Rose's body for the past few years, and there was no way to save her. She had six months to live.

So two months before she was told she would meet her fate, she became seriously ill: never leaving her bed. She stayed like this for a month and a half, before she finally passed away, leaving a crying Nick and Ricky at her bedside.

Ricky felt her eyes grow hot again, reliving the day her mother died right before her eyes.

She couldn't stop herself as her breathing became heavy, warm tears trailing their way down her face.

Rachel's words still echoed in her mind…

'_You're mother is dead!'_

Her tears came out even more, her constant weeping growing stronger. She hadn't been this bad about her mother in years…

"Ricky?"

Lavender eyelids peeled open, blue scleras falling into golden irises.

Blue had arrived at the beach just moments ago. He had seen Ricky crying and had made his way in front of her quickly, worry stretched across his face.

Ricky didn't respond; instead throwing herself at the shiny umbreon, burying her head in his chest and holding on to him with one of her paws.

His golden orbs wide with shock, he stared down at the crying espeon below him, her tears soaking into his chest fur.

He hesitantly raised one of his paws up, wrapping it around the smaller eeveelution slowly.

As his arm wrapped around her back, it brought comfort to Ricky. There was someone there to comfort her, someone who could make the pain go away.

"What happened?" Blue whispered into her ear, curious as to why she was so upset.

He heard an unintelligible mumble come out of the espeon, whose crying was slowly beginning to subside.

"I can't hear you," Blue chuckled, even though he knew it wasn't the time too. He felt Ricky slowly backing off of him, his arm retracting back to him as well.

He could still feel her tears on his chest, but he didn't even bother. He was more focused on the espeon with the tear stained face inches in front of him.

"I-I miss my mom…" Ricky chocked through her few tears that remained… "I-I was at home today…Rachel…she slapped me…then I came here and…I thought about my mom and how I miss her and I…I just miss her so much…"

Blue recalled the time when Ricky had told him that she had had a step-mother, but she never mentioned a _mother_. The first conclusion that popped in his head was that her mother was dead.

"I don't know what happened to your mother," Blue replied, smiling warmly at the saddened espeon to try and comfort her, "But I'm sure she wouldn't want you to be like this…now on your step-mother…"

The change in Blue's tone at the last part of that sentence caught Ricky's attention, her blue scleras drawing up to him curiously.

His golden irises were focused on her sternly, "Why did she slap you?"

"I told her to shut up…after she kept telling me my mother was dead and I need to stop being weak and get over it…" The lavender cat explained in a mouthful.

The shiny umbreon growled; his teeth bare as he got up on all fours and walked right past Ricky, walking in the direction of the espeon territory.

She watched him go in shock, "What're you doing?"

Her voice didn't stop him, as he continued to walk that way in a determined manner. "I'm going to go talk to this _Rachel_ character…"

"No!" Ricky cried, picking herself up and chasing behind him, jumping in front of him and stopping him right near the espeon territory's boundary.

"You can't go there!" The espeon tried to bring some reason into him, "I don't care what you say I'm not letting you past!"

"But Rachel shouldn't have said that!"

"I can take care of it!" Ricky chuckled at his determination, "Don't worry!"

"You didn't seem to have the courage to take up for yourself, though." Blue replied, his tone becoming worried again.

The adolescent espeon's eyes averted to the ground, "That's because I'm too afraid to hurt her back…"

"Just promise me you will show some courage to her next time…" The shiny umbreon replied, his ears slightly folding back pleadingly.

Ricky smiled, repeating a sentence he had asked her just days before.

"Can you teach me?"


	11. Fireworks

"_He said for you to meet him here after sunset, he has something he wants to show you."_

Ricky's thoughts swarmed around this one sentence, the message she had received earlier from Mr. Terry. The swellow had told her that Blue had wanted to give that message to her, since he wasn't at the beach the first half of the day.

Earlier that day Ricky was drawn to the beach, reasons unknown why she wanted to see the shiny umbreon again. She had this sudden urge to see him and to be in his presence, something she never really knew of before.

While she found herself at the beach, she noticed that Blue was not there. The father of the swellow family was the first to come to her, delivering her the message and telling of how she had missed her friend by just a matter of minutes. Mr. Terry had said Blue had something to do the first half of that day, and it was just a coincidence that Ricky did too.

It was in fact a Tuesday, and Ricky was spending time with her four best friends at their special meeting place. Of course while the four of them were in conversation about something, Ricky's mind was enveloped around that one message.

"…_he has something he wants to show you." _

What Blue wanted to show her was something she intently focused on. What was Mr. Terry talking about when he said this? Of course he wouldn't know…it was Blue who had said it.

The bigger problem in that matter, he had also requested for her to come _after_ sunset this time. It was a little daring when she asked her dad if she could go, and regretfully told him it was Wanda she would be with when he asked. She couldn't risk letting him know it was Blue, though. How would her dad react to her meeting with a Pokémon that was part of the enemy tribe?

The espeon often wondered what she had gotten herself into when she agreed into meeting with Blue, but for some reason she didn't regret this.

Blue seemed different than what everyone said. 'Umbreon' are evil, 'umbreon' are demon. She heard such vile and vulgar things about them, but Blue was the complete opposite. He was like one of the fellow espeon she knew, not what everyone described him as.

She liked Blue, and she was beginning to believe that the espeon's beliefs on the umbreon were completely wrong, yet she could never know for sure.

There were many things she still wondered about these enemies of her tribes. One of the biggest questions she seemed to ask herself was if _she_ considered them enemies.

"_I mean…they did evolve from eevee," _She thought, _"We're basically the same; I don't see what's wrong with just getting along."_

The lavender feline shook her head, sighing as she began to get a headache from thinking about it too much. Maybe she should just get to know Blue more, before they became even closer than they already were. For some reason she felt like there was something big she didn't know about him, and she was desperate to know.

"Ricky?" A male voice from the brainstorming espeon's left asked, causing her to jump slightly in response.

Her big blue scleras looked over to the taller, lavender feline next to her. She identified this creature as her best friend Dillon, whose lilac eyes stared back at her enquiringly, brows furrowed.

The lavender feline's cheeks blushed slightly, realizing she had been caught not listening again; for the third time in the last hour.

"What do you keep thinking about?" Dillon chuckled slightly, though still slightly annoyed. "You've been staring into space for the past five minutes."

Ricky laughed nervously. "Sorry guys, something's just got me thinking lately."

The older male espeon tilted his head slightly, eyes still focused on the younger teenager. "Well if it's that important, what is it?"

"None of your business," Ricky laughed, hoping Dillon would just drop the subject sooner or later.

Unfortunately, however, Dillon was quite an impatient guy. He wanted to know what he wanted to know, and not telling him would cut away at his temper.

The male's eyes narrowed a slight bit more at his friend. "What's been up with you these past few days? You've just seemed…different…"

It was Ricky's turn to tilt her head, wanting her friend to go more into detail.

He understood quickly, adding onto his previous statement, "It's like you're hiding something from us."

Ricky held back a gulp, her eyes slightly averting to the side of Dillon's head. "You know I wouldn't keep secrets from you guys."

"Look me in the eyes and tell me that."

The adolescent girl turned her blue scleras back to her friend, staring him in the eyes. He gave back a focused, intense stare as their eyes locked.

Ricky knew she hated lying to her friend, and if there was one thing she hated more that was lying to him while she was looking him straight in the eye. Her whole face seemed to heat up as they continued to stare back at each other for what seemed like hours, her three other friends watching from the side in attentiveness.

Ricky gave in quickly, sighing as she dropped her head and ears.

She heard Dillon scoff, "I knew you couldn't. I can't believe she already lied to my face before that."

This made Ricky's head shoot back up, her sudden regret turning into annoyance. "I didn't lie to your face! Could you not tell I wasn't even _looking_ at you?"

The younger female's sudden anger didn't suppress her male friend, who rolled his lilac orbs impatiently. "Whatever, Ricky."

Ricky also rolled her eyes, rather in a mimicking tone than the serious one Dillon had done. She pointed her snout away from him, instead turning her attention to Mitch, Wanda, and Brooklyn. The three stare back at her wide-eyed, more than likely surprised at what they had just witnessed. Ricky and Dillon _never_ fought, not even something as little as they just had.

A small smile tugged at the corner of Ricky's lips, looking at each of the three respectively. "Again, sorry for not paying attention, I will try to put my thoughts aside next time. Also, thanks for not pushing into my business, _and_ not making _such_ a big _deal_ about it." She shot a quick glance at Dillon as she finished up her sentence.

"It's alright, Ricky." Brooklyn, the shiny espeon, spoke up first; her sweet smile and caring tone reassuring and calming Ricky. "I mean, hey: it has happened to all of us at some point."

The lavender fox smiled, mostly directing it at Dillon as she glanced at him yet again.

Wanda noticed this, desperate for the two not to fight again, stepping in front of Ricky and catching her attention. "How about we play a game? You know, to get our mind off of things?"

Ricky and Dillon caught each other's glimpse this time, both knowing the other wanted to settle things just as well. Both looked back to Wanda, nodding to the navy-eyed espeon.

"Alright, let's play truth or dare!" The excited female clasped her paws together, giggling excitedly. The game, for some odd reason, was her favorite of all games the five best friends would play.

Ricky silently wondered if that was the best thing to play at the moment, but shook it off, not wanting to start up the heat again with Dillon…or anyone else.

The other four espeons agreed quickly, as they formed a loose circle to where they could all see each other.

"So, I'll be asking the truth or telling the dare first," Wanda began, seeing as everyone had taken their positions, "But who will volunteer to go first?"

All looked at each other, sharing glances and secretly wishing someone else would go first. However, it was Mitch who decided to volunteer first.

Wanda shared a small smile with her boyfriend, before proceeding with her next question. "Thank you, Mitch. Now; truth or dare?"

"Truth," Mitch responded without hesitation. Everyone expected this, since Mitch wasn't the one to trust his dares in the paws of Wanda, whose creative mind stretched across the imagination zone.

Wanda giggled quietly, eyes meeting Mitch's, "If you were a food, what would you be and how would you want to be prepared?"

Mitch cocked a brow as he and the other chuckled to themselves, "Seriously, Wanda?"

Mitch's girlfriend giggled, slowly shaking her head up and down, unable to speak.

The male espeon rolled his eyes playfully, "Well, if I must answer…I would be fish, and I would want to be prepared by being shock by lightning."

The imaginative female tilted her head slightly, humor still etched on her face. "Lightning? Why?"

Mitch shrugged, "It's just a crazy as the truth question you asked me."

The two chuckled slightly, pushing each other on the shoulders playfully, before continuing on with the game.

Mitch looked to his right at Dillon, "I guess since I answer my truth question honestly, it is now my turn to ask you truth or dare?"

The other male espeon smiled boldly, "Dare." This didn't surprise the other espeons either, since Dillon almost always was capable of doing his dares. He was a complete daredevil, and didn't seem to be scared of doing anything.

Mitch looked up in thought, debating on what Dillon's dare should be. The other male didn't stress, waiting for his friend's dare, somehow keeping his patience this time.

Finally, Mitch thought of something, looking back down at the others and twitching his tail happily. "I dare you…to make a _phhhh_ noise with your mouth everytime someone says a term that contains the letter 't'."

Dillon scrunched his nose, lilac eyes widening at Mitch. "How am I supposed to do that?"

Mitch shrugged, smiling in amusement. "You just do. You have to do it till your next round, now go ahead and ask Ricky truth or dare."

Dillon rolled his eyes, but was determined to do his dare, turning his attention to Ricky, who waited eagerly. He knew she probably wasn't waiting to find what her truth or dare would be, but to say a word with the letter t in it and make Dillon participate in his dare.

"Truth or dare, Ricky?"

"Truth-"

"_Phhhh!"_

Mitch, Wanda, Brooklyn, and Ricky all busted out in laughter, while Dillon looked on at the four of them exasperatingly. "I don't see how this is so funny."

"It's-"

"_Phhhh!"_

"-just-"

"_Phhhh!"_

"-so funny, stop-"

"_Phhhh!"_

"-being so serious, have some fun!"

Dillon could hardly understand Ricky, since she was so caught up in laughter, while he thought it wasn't all that funny. A smile still found its way across his face, however, happy to see him and Ricky getting back to normal.

"Fine, can I just ask you the question now?"

Ricky smiled, chuckling slightly as her laughter subsided, "Oh, I know we will have a fun time-"

"_Phhhh!"_

oOoOo

"Bye, Ricky!" Wanda called, as she and her boyfriend Mitch proceeded to head back home, "I'll see you Thursday!"

The lavender feline grinned, "Bye, Wanda! See you Thursday!"

She watched as her two friends disappeared into the path behind the trees, the one Brooklyn and Dillon had left through earlier.

Smiling as they disappeared through the brush, Ricky went on her own way, but not home like the others were going.

It was nearing the end of sunset, the quiet darkness of the night slowly seething its way through, the moon shining the paths slightly. Ricky couldn't recall ever being out this late, and felt butterflies in her stomach as she made her way to the beach.

She still anticipated finding out what Blue had wanted to show her, but was still nervous about meeting him at night. It was a bit odd that he had asked, and even though she knew the swellow family would more than likely be there to watch her, she still felt a bit scared. She did trust Blue, which made her think the thought of it being her first time out at night was what made her think this way.

However, something inside of her screamed for the excitement, anxious to see Blue again. She was beginning to form an unusual bond with him, and was excited to be able to be with him again.

Her pace down the path to the beach slowed, then quickened, then slowed, and followed through the same process. At times she was worried something bad would happen, and then she shook aside those thoughts and listened to her heart. She didn't know, though.

By the time she had finally made it to the beach, the darkness had already crept up quickly over time, enveloping the forest with darkness in every passing second.

Stepping her way onto the now cool sandy beach, she instantly found Blue.

He had his back turned on her, so he must not have noticed she had arrived. He was facing the ocean, eyes closed and head slightly raised. A cool breeze brushed through, slightly playing with his tail and ears as they moved about slightly.

The thing Ricky noticed the most about the shiny umbreon, however, was the difference in the glow of his blue bands. Instead of being dimmer like they were during the day, they were bright and more fluorescent, making him exceedingly more noticeable.

He looked so much…happier during the night. Ricky smiled at this, even though she knew she probably looked scared senseless finding herself in the darker atmosphere.

"Blue?" Her voice echoed eerily, the hair-raising silence sending chills down her bones.

The shiny umbreon, however, acted differently. He calmly looked over his shoulder at her, smiling as he caught sight of her. Were his eyes glowing more too?

"Ricky," He began, standing on all fours and smiling warmly at his feline companion. "You came!"

The espeon nodded, feeling at a slight more ease as she approached him, "Of course I did, I got your message."

Blue's smile widened as she spoke, a small breath escaping from his lungs as he did so. "Great. The surprise should be here any second now…"

The espeon skewed her head as the shiny umbreon looked over his shoulder, up at the sky behind him. What was he looking for?

Shrugging it off her thoughts, she attacked a different approach. "You look different." Trying to make it sound less rude than it came out, the lavender cat iced it with a grin.

The dark type didn't take it rudely, slightly chuckling at her cover up. "Yea, umbreon is the moonlight Pokémon. I guess the other fact to this is that the moon is full tonight." He glanced at the moon above them tenderly, then quickly turning his attention back to Ricky. He looked her up and down, amusement etched across his face. "You look different, too."

The female laughed a nervous laugh, her pupiless blue orbs averting to the right. "Yea, I've never been comfortable with the night. I don't see how you're so well-mannered with the sun."

Blue looked thoughtfully at her, understanding well. "Well, my parents always say we have to be up and alert during the day. I don't sleep much, maybe four hours a day, five if I'm lucky."

Ricky frowned, trying to hide back the pity that wanted to overcome her. "Wow… That sounds unbearable."

Blue nodded, unable to think of anything else to say. His golden orbs locked with Ricky's blue, the silence winning the casual night. They stared back into each other's eyes, not wanting to look away. There was something about the other one that made the latter questioning. Questioning what the feeling was around them.

_Phoooooom!_

The sound made even Blue jump, as the two were back to back, rear ends on the ground as their eyes caught sight of something in the sky.

Flashes of green, red, blue, and yellow took to the sky. Starting out as a single line that exploded into millions of fluorescent orbs.

"Fireworks," Blue smiled, feeling Ricky's body behind him, "This is what I wanted to show you."

Ricky didn't respond, instead staring awestruck into the sky. Her mother had promised to take her to the fireworks show once, but it was cancelled. This was the first time she had ever seen fireworks; and she was amazed.

A warm sensation washed over the two, causing Ricky to giggle in excitement at this new experience. She could hear Blue chuckle at her reaction, which made it a bit more embarrassing.

The embarrassment soon washed away, her scleras catching sight of more spectacular fireworks. "Wow, Blue." She stated. "The fireworks, a beach, this cool night weather…Everything's…beautiful."

Blue stared into the sky as well, "It reminds me of you."

Both realizing what the shiny umbreon had just said, a blush formed across both of their cheeks. Their faces became really hot, trying their best to try and calm down and focus on the fireworks instead.

Blue had never called anyone beautiful, and Ricky had never been called beautiful.

His face still hot with awkwardness, Blue tried to get onto a different subject, for the better of both of them. "H-How about we lie down? There's a reason behind the fireworks, and I wanted to tell you."

The two looked over their shoulders at each other, happy to see that they weren't the only ones embarrassed. Ricky nodded in agreement to his proposal, following Blue as he walked to the middle of the beach.

The shiny umbreon quickly flopped on his back, Ricky doing the same beside him. Their closeness was a quite bit obstinate at first, but they soon settled it quickly.

"Alright," Blue began, seeing as he and the espeon had both become comfortable, "Do you want to know why the umbreon are shooting fireworks on this date?"

"Yes," Ricky decided, "I'm quite curious to know why."

The shiny umbreon chuckled quickly, before continuing. "Well, today's date marks the anniversary for the day the first umbreon was ever created."

Ricky looked on in astonishment, "You mean; you _actually_ keep _up_ with that?"

Blue nodded, "Of course. I'm sure if you ask around you'll find the reason for the first espeon, but let me continue before we get onto that subject." The umbreon frowned, but quickly regained his smile as he proceeded onto his next sentence, Ricky looking at him in curiosity. "Pokémon are always telling how umbreon is a "devil" eevee, when it was actually an angel sent by Arceus to bring peace."

"Peace?" Ricky asked inquisitively.

The shiny umbreon nodded again, "Yes, peace. Do you recall the war of the eevee many, many centuries ago?"

The pubescent female looked deep back in her thoughts, "I think I remember my father telling me something of it."

Blue sighed, "Well, my parents always tell me about it. It was back when just eevee, vaporeon, jolteon, flareon, and espeon were the only existing eeveelutions. Umbreon, leafeon, and glaceon were not yet existent to the world."

"The war from those many centuries ago had many different reasons for starting. There were three territories: the eevee territory, which consisted of the never evolving eevee who believed they were to be the only existing of the eeveelutions, the vaporeon, jolteon, and flareon territory, the three stone eevees who thought the eevee were wrong, but gratefully despised the territory of the espeon, who presumed they were the most unique, their evolution by friendship exceeding the likeliness of its kin."

"So, their lusting hate for each other grew sturdier. They broke out into a bloody, horrid, _unplanned_ war, other Pokémon unable to stop the biased eeveelutions."

"What happened?" Ricky asked as Blue paused from his story, receiving an amused chuckled from Blue.

"I was getting to that!" He smiled before he continued. "So when all things started looking bleak- the dying Pokémon, the scared children, the crushing of bones- a ray of hope shone through the darkness."

"All, _all_ of the fighters cautiously paused their fighting, uncertain if they were to resume. All fighters were residing in a flat plain, their eyes directed to the sky."

"A beam of light shone from the moon above, onto the ground below. A black silhouette was slowly drifting down to the earth, noticeably becoming a solid black as their features soon were realized, a single halo emanating above its forehead."

"As soon as its black limbs came in contact to the ground, the halo forged onto its forehead, similar bands forming on the creature's ear, shoulders, waists, and tail. It slowly revealed blood red eyes, the color of love."

"Arceus had sent this creature, umbreon, to bring peace to the war. Bring peace; it did, bringing some sense back into the eeveelutions."

"This umbreon character told how the God of Pokémon had sent it, preaching to the battlers how their fighting was foolish. There was no reason to be selfish like the eevee were, stubborn like the stone eevees, or too proud like the espeon. The one thing that got across to them, though, was one little sentence: 'You are all part of each other, someway somehow, what difference is there?'"

"That and the message delivered by Arceus from the first umbreon slowly made them realize what was wrong. They all took a look at their opponents, bowing their heads in shame of themselves. They all realized every single one of them was wrong, and the umbreon was right."

"The creature was thanked, praised, and honored for what it had done. Although the angel had to go back to Arceus, eevee discovered they could now evolve into the strange creature, umbreon becoming the second friendship eevee."

"So, from then on, umbreon lived among the Pokémon. It was widely known, only back then, as the angel of darkness: a gift sent from Arceus."

Blue turned his head over to look at Ricky, who stared back in awe. "I-I've never heard the story of umbreon that way…"

The shiny umbreon sighed, "I'm glad to have told you. I just wish the espeon and umbreon could realize it, and become friends again."

Ricky nodded in agreement, regret washing over her at her long ago impression of umbreon as 'evil'. Blue's words hadn't changed those thoughts, though; it was the shiny umbreon himself who had changed her thoughts.

She grinned at the umbreon thoughtfully, who could only smile back warmly to her, eyes making contact.

Their gaze was quickly broken as Blue's golden eyes looked into the sky, an anterior limb pointing to something in it. "Look, Ricky!" The espeon looked up at the sky, following his indication and catching sight of a mew figure shape formed from the stars.

"Wow!" Ricky exclaimed excitedly, "I didn't think you could point out shapes with clouds _and_ stars!"

Blue chuckled, "You should really get out more."

Ricky shot him a quick glance, before the two quickly turned to investigate the dark sky for more surprises. The fireworks still shot on in the background, but were starting to decrease in number over time.

"Look!" Ricky cried, pointing to a figure in the sky, "A star _within_ the stars."

The shiny umbreon laughed in humor at the sight, "Ha! Never seen that before! Nice spotting, Ricky!"

The feline laughed alongside her fox friend, before something else caught her eye. "Look-"

The two eeveelutions stared at the small ball of light that mysteriously formed in the sky, before quickly shooting across the sky and disappearing as bafflingly as it had appeared.

"What was that?" Ricky asked, unaware of what she had just seen.

Blue, who lay beside her, had his mouth agape in surprise. "That was a shooting star," He explained, "When you see one, you should make a wish."

Ricky silently agreed, before saying the wish out in her head, Blue doing the same.

It became quite for a few moments, until Ricky unwillingly broke the silence. "Blue, what time is it?"

The umbreon narrowed his eyes at the moon thoughtfully, "A bit after nine, I suppose."

The espeon quickly jumped up, causing the shiny umbreon to do the same, watching her nervous state. "What's wrong?"

Ricky blinked, "It's a bit late…I hope my father isn't mad…" She looked into Blue's golden irises, finding comfort within them, "I'm sorry, Blue. I need to go back home…"

The shiny umbreon sighed, not wanting to leave her presence. He reluctantly gave in. "Alright, Ricky. I hope we can meet again soon."

The espeon nodded, "Blue, don't worry. I _want_ to meet again."

They both smiled at each other, a newfound respect obviously showing.

Ricky looked over her shoulder, before looking back to the shiny umbreon opposite her. "I had an amazing time tonight, Blue." She took a step closer to him, showing off a warm grin. "Thank you, you're a spectacular friend."

The umbreon returned the gesture, "You as well, Ricky." He also took a step closer, their faces inches apart. "It wouldn't have been the same without you."

The two met each other's eyes, blue scleras and golden irises exploring the other. This time, no uncomfortable or awkward feeling washed over the two, instead a new feeling rising in their chests.

The flashes of the ascending and descending fireworks in the background shone on their faces, their eyes, their every feature.

Ricky and Blue felt themselves leaning closer, their eyes beginning to close-

_Skeeeeeeeew!_

The loud, and annoying, sound of a firework erupted from the sky, causing both of the teenagers to jump back from each other. The humiliation spread clearly across the pairs' cheeks yet again.

Blue chuckled nervously, "Hehe…loud one…"

Ricky made the same tone in her chuckle, "Yea…"

The two looked at the latter gently, keeping their distance.

Ricky smiled, "Goodnight, Blue."

Blue returned the smile, "Goodnight, Ricky."

Both kept eye contact until they turned around, not looking over their shoulders at each other because they knew they would see each other again, no matter what.

As Ricky reached the border line to her territory, she looked over her shoulder at the trail Blue had just left through, a warm grin plastered across her face.

She was going to see him again. Because she not only had a newfound respect for him, but many new feelings, ones that she could not explain.


	12. Feud

Blue lay comfortably on his back in the grass of his front yard, looking up into the cloudless sky as he daydreamed perceptively. His golden irises stuck on one strip of blue sky in the atmosphere, locked on it as he dreamed. His navy-gray body was shallow under cool, pacifying shade from the oak above him.

A loud breath emanated through his lungs, a smile stroking across his expression.

The morning was working out exceedingly well for him. His brother Danny had left to hang out with his friends, so there was no more of his constant annoyance around the house. His friends Elizabeth and Colton were coming over any minute now to hang out with him, and he was excited since he hadn't seen them in almost a week now.

Right now, though, he had some time to himself. It was actually very peaceful, since he was always being cooped up inside bored all day. The only time of fun he had was with Ricky, who he was meeting with what seemed to be every single day.

There was something different about her; of course she was as good a friend as Colton and Elizabeth as it seemed, but there was another feeling he had toward her.

He would often shrug it off, but it always kept him wondering. Ironically, he seemed to think about her a lot too.

Actually, when he looked at it right, the sky reminded him of her: the cloudless blue sky that matched her pretty blue scleras. From tales of umbreon, he always heard that espeon had "eerie" purple eyes. While he didn't find her eyes one bit creepy, he also noticed they weren't the purple or lilac shade he always heard of: hers where blue.

It was like he had something in common with her; he was a shiny umbreon, different from any normal umbreon. She was also different, her eyes not being a common trait of her breed.

He could relate to her this way, but that's why he got along so well with her. Her personality was similar to his, their differences, their way of seeing things.

He just wished he could stop thinking about it so much. He yearned to know what attracted his self to her.

"This way, Pedro."

The feminine voice reached Blue's earshot, catching his attention. Sure, other Pokémon had walked by earlier and he also heard what they said, but he recognized this voice. This voice he had heard not only days ago, and the voice that followed after the first confirmed the suspect.

"Indeed," The latter voice responded, a hissing tone to a masculine voice, "Let's go, Andrea."

The shiny umbreon quickly rolled onto his side, perking his head up as his golden orbs scanned the area near the alpha cave.

There, standing not ten feet away from him was the feud Pokémon zangoose and seviper. He recognized the characters as quickly as he recognized the voice.

The navy bandana atop the zangoose's head told him exactly who they were.

This was the feud pair that had attacked Ricky's taillow friend, Watson.

The shiny umbreon jumped up instantly from his spot, back slightly arched as he took a few steps toward the unknowing two.

A growl shot from his chest, causing the mongoose and snake creatures to look over their shoulders at him, two pairs of red eyes looking on in unknowing question.

"What're you two doing here?" The shiny umbreon asked, stepping out of the light to reveal his character.

The zangoose fully stepped around, her eyebrows raised and red eyes locked on the fox as she recognized him as well. "Why, if it isn't Prince Thomas-"

"Don't call me that," Blue corrected as he took a step closer. He was trying his best to hide back the anger he had for the two, since they had bird-napped Ricky's friend.

The zangoose smirked, "Oh? Why not, then? I mean, it _is_ the name your parents birthed you with, why not use it?"

The shiny umbreon shook his head; he knew she was just trying his patience. "Just answer my question."

The zangoose, Andrea, frowned. "Alright then. Pedro and I are here to discuss some business with Queen Taylor and King Rocky."

The navy-gray fox's ears perked up, his golden eyes widening at the mongoose's response. "What _business_ do you have to discuss with my parents?"

"That is private, only for us and the alphas to know," Andrea winked oddly. Blue sensed something suspicious about her act, and knew he had to get to the bottom of it.

The two share a small glance, before Andrea made a hand motion, her and the seviper companion turning their backs on Blue as they proceeded to his cave.

"No!" The umbreon countered, running ahead and blocking them from the cave by placing himself between them. "There's something strange about this, and I have a feeling it's not a good thing."

The zangoose chuckled.

"Oh please, little prince," She chuckled again, "What could be so bad about it?"

The umbreon tilted his head doubtfully, "I don't know, I'm just getting a bad vibe from it."

"Just let us by, Prince-"

"Just tell me!" The umbreon pleaded, stopping the two before they made their way around him, not worried that he was pushing their nerves to the edge. "Tell me, and I'll let you in."

"Promise?" The mongoose Pokémon asked, bottom lip pushed out almost in a sarcastic manner.

Blue gritted his teeth.

"…Promise…"

Andrea smiled pleasantly, crossing her arms as the seviper beside her looked on worriedly.

"Andrea," Pedro began, "I thought you said we would-"

The zangoose silenced him, shaking her head as she leaned close to him to whisper, "I know what I'm doing."

The seviper hesitantly agreed, slinking back a bit as he let his companion take control of the conversation once more. Blue, who had slightly eavesdropped on their slight conversation, looked on inquisitively. What were they planning to do and what was the zangoose's tactics now?

The shiny umbreon knew if it resulted to battle, he would have to remember the four f's, and kept his self from worrying about anything happening.

"_Just focus…_" He told himself, _"Ricky said focus is important, I have to believe in her word."_

His golden eyes locked on the two feuds Pokémon situated at least four feet away from him at the moment. "Okay…so what are you doing here?"

The white mongoose was the one who spoke, "We are here to discuss with your parents about espeon attacks in their territory, and how we were victims in the umbreon territory," Andrea turned slightly and pointed to bite marks on her left shoulder, "We even have the bite marks to prove it."

The shiny umbreon curiously looked closer at the bite marks, something quite intriguing about them to him. It was funny, because the bite marks looked familiar.

After squinting a little harder over it, it hit him.

Those were _his_ bite marks. The ones _he_ imprinted on the zangoose not only days before in an act to protect Ricky from getting hurt. The fact that it was his bite marks was not the only thing he realized. He also realized that the zangoose said _espeon_ had attacked her, when those had been his bite marks, meaning the pairs' story was a lie.

His golden orbs widened in surprise, causing the zangoose to smirk at his response.

"That's a lie!" He sputtered, "I did that, not an espeon!"

Andrea howled wildly with laughter, "You just don't get it, do you kid?"

The shiny umbreon furrowed his brows, confused. "What do you mean?"

"That's not the story I tell your parents," Andrea began, receiving an even more astonished reaction from the prince, "You see; I was a little disappointed when that blasted swellow found Pedro and me and took away our next meal. But, I was even more disappointed when you actually attacked me. You're a prince, umbreon! A prince! You know you shouldn't just attack a visitor of your territory just because they wanted something to eat!"

The zangoose took a pause to laugh at Blue's expression, as he was completely dumbfounded and awestruck at her words.

"So as a punishment for your actions, I'm telling a different story to your parents-"

"You're not my mom!" The shiny umbreon interrupted, more shocked than he was angered.

Andrea narrowed her eyes, "They would be _pleased_ with what I'm doing for you."

The shiny umbreon shook his head, changing the subject out of his bewilderment. "I was helping protect your "meal"!"

"Oh, so I can't eat whatever I want now?" The zangoose countered, enjoying his shock but still quite annoyed with his whining.

"You don't understand!" The shiny umbreon shook his head, "You took him right in front of his parents' eyes! Their only child-"

"It's called _life_ Thomas." Andrea also shook her head, "I have one too."

"I was just trying to help Ricky's friends-"

"Thomas, let me explain something to you," The zangoose interrupted the upset umbreon, her tone a bit calmer than before. "You're a carnivore as well, right? Think about all the food you eat. They had friends too, Thomas. Why is it okay for you but not for me?"

Blue had his mouth open to respond, but no words came out. His eyes drifted to the ground, his mouth slowly closing as no words were to come out. He forlornly realized how wrong he was, and that the zangoose _actually was_ making a good point.

The shiny umbreon sighed, eyes glancing up so he could see the zangoose. "Sorry. Please, just tell me what you're going to tell my parents."

The zangoose beamed, delighted to see an attitude change in the navy-gray fox. "That's better." She stated, complimenting Blue's more respectful mood. "Now, for what I am to tell your parents: My partner Pedro and I were pretty deep in umbreon territory, taking a little tour. One night we had ourselves a meal and were getting prepared to eat, when four espeon circled us. We were indeed confused as to why there were espeon in an umbreon territory, and immediately became worried. They attacked us, stole our meal, and left. By how courageous they were acting, I knew there had to be more nearby. So, we decided to immediately come and tell the alphas there were dangerous enemies in their territory, and that they should prepare."

Blue wasn't as shocked after this story, instead doubtful to believe it, nervously chuckling after hearing it. "That's a huge lie. My punishment surely shouldn't be that bad."

The zangoose sneered deviously, "You don't know the ways I work, Prince Thomas."

"Stop calling me that," Blue snapped, "And you know that's not fair!"

"Life's not fair."

Blue growled, taking steps closer to the zangoose dangerously. Pedro was proceeding to step in front of his zangoose friend and defend her, but was interjected as she stopped him with her clawed paw.

"I wouldn't attack me, _Thomas_." The zangoose laughed revengefully, "You would just cause more wounds to me, making the attackers sound even more dangerous and distrustful."

Blue stopped immediately in his tracks, taking her word and not wanting to make it any worse than it was. "I-I can't let you tell my parents this!"

The shiny umbreon stood defensively in front of his parents cave, eyes hard and locked.

The zangoose, however, paid no attention. She shook her head with a humorous smile across her face. "But, you _promised_."

The shiny umbreon narrowed his eyes, not taking his golden orbs off the two Hoenn Pokémon as he stepped out of their way. He couldn't break a promise, when he was little his parents and friends always told him how horrible it was to break a promise.

As the two made their way past them, light red eyes found themselves in a lockdown with golden.

"You will _regret_ this."

Andrea scoffed, "Yea, and you will once your little girlfriend finds out."

"Ricky…" The shiny umbreon gasped, receiving one last sickening chuckle from the zangoose before she disappeared within the alpha den.

The umbreon slumped down next to the rocky granite of his home, golden eyes staring forward at nothing worth importance.

Something bad was going to happen, and he was the cause of it.

oOoOo

Ricky snuck her way to the beach, anxious to see Blue again.

Thinking about him brought a smile to her face, as she remembered the last time they had met. It was like nothing she had ever seen before, and coincidentally she actually had never seen fireworks, a shooting star, nor did she spend so much time out after sunset. To experience it all with an umbreon was something she never expected, but it was alright.

Blue was amazing, and she thought highly of him. He was working out to be a very well friend, and she talked with him last night as if she had known him forever. She anticipated their next meet.

_Snap!_

The instant crack behind her shot through the discreet breeze, causing the lavender feline to quickly look around, a little worried and annoyed of the chance someone was possibly following her.

Things resumed their inaudible peace as she looked around, blue scleras scanning over the area to which the noise came from. She was a little more relieved when she realized the much quieter environment, beginning to believe it was just a Pokémon walking by or just the wind blowing a dead limb off of a tree.

She skimmed the area one last time, before turning and heading back on her way down the path.

She was only a few feet away, when she just slightly caught a whisper through the wind.

"That was a close call…"

At that, Ricky spun around again, eyes clearly showing her annoyance as she padded back over to where she was just seconds ago.

"Alright, show yourself!" She stated; a frown etched across her face.

After several seconds of silence, the hidden Pokémon finally revealed themselves, the lavender figure catching Ricky's eye.

"Dillon?" She sputtered, astonished as the character was revealed, "What're you doing here?"

Ricky's espeon friend frowned, obviously disappointed about something. "I was just seeing what you were doing…"

Ricky held back a laugh, still a little confused as to why Dillon was even there in the first place. "Really? It just felt like you were following me…"

"Well…"

"Wait, where you?" Ricky asked aghast.

No response came from Dillon, who lilac eyes stared solemnly at the ground, instead of at Ricky.

Ricky gasped, "You were?" Dillon shrugged. "Why?"

The male espeon took a deep breath, while his slightly annoyed friend stared back at him, preparing for his answer. Dillon's lilac eyes looked into Ricky's blue, as if he was determined to tell her the truth. "Ricky, you've been going somewhere lately. You've also been acting up lately. Is something going on? Are you being forced to do this? Are you-"

"Hold it!" Ricky interrupted, causing her friend to stop immediately in his fast-paced talking. The espeon looked back into his eyes, not breaking contact with them. "Dillon, just because you think something's "up" with me, _doesn't_ mean you have to follow me without further notice. That upsets me; I can't believe you would actually follow me around."

Dillon frowned, pointing his snout to the ground, ultimately breaking eye contact with his best friend. "Ricky, I'm sorry…but-" He glanced back up, catching a hasty glance of her, "I'm just worried about you. You seem…different."

"Well that doesn't give you the right to follow me around!" The clearly upset female responded, slightly raising her voice. Unfortunately, Dillon took it the wrong way, his eyebrows narrowing in disapproval.

"Hey, don't yell at me!" He shouted back, teeth slightly prominent, "I was just telling you how I felt! I'm concerned about you, Ricky!"

Ricky also bared her teeth, taking a step forward and slightly arching her back in a defensive manner. "Well then why not talk about it with me? That, I don't care about! Now following me around like a stalker? I _will_ care!"

"Hey, don't throw this drama all on me, I was just trying to-"

"Just trying to help, right." Ricky finished it off for him, turning her back on his and staring at the ground in an attempt to control her anger. "Why can't we talk about this, Blue? I wish you would understand why I disapprove-"

"Wait?" Dillon made yet another interruption, cocking a brow inquisitively. "Did you just call me…Blue?"

The pubescent feline widened her eyes in astonishment, quickly throwing her head over her shoulder to see her friend not suspicious, but yet confused. Maybe she could cover this up quickly enough.

"O-Oh…Blue is a friend of my dads," She lied, "I guess I said his name instead of yours for some reason, sorry."

"It's fine," He nodded, quickly shrugging it off to Ricky's relief.

The two flashed a quick, single smile at each other before the grins faded, leaving them to look back at each other noiselessly.

Ricky felt something odd, as she stared back at her friend in the silence. Before, when she looked at him, she felt something wonderful yet so nervous when they made eye contact.

Now, she just saw an espeon who had been like a brother to her for months.

Ricky sighed, catching Dillon's attention as he watched her look over her shoulder. He began to suspect she was wandering to where she was indicating unknowingly, and he knew he could use this for help.

The male espeon slightly jumped as Ricky looked back at him, blue eyes scanning over his tense state. She only smiled at him, unaware that he was paying close attention to her actions.

"So, Dillon…I'm going to be on my way now." Ricky stated, smiling before continuing down the path.

Dillon, however, ran ahead and jumped in front of her, a cheeky smile caked across his face. "Oh, I was hoping we could do something together. We never get to spend time with just each other, anymore."

The espeon smiled wholeheartedly, regretting what her answer would be. "Sorry, I really have plans today-"

"For what?" Dillon asked, straightening himself up as he grinned widely at the lavender female.

The blue-eyed feline stared back up at him, eyebrow cocked at how his smile was beginning to become a bit creepy for her. "It's kind of private." She shot him a short glare. "Maybe you won't follow me there."

Dillon frowned.

"Come on Ricky, you're my best friend," The older teenager pleaded, "I tell you _everything_, why can't I know where you've been going?"

Ricky frowned, as well. "This is private, Dillon. It's a secret between me and someone else I know."

"Who?"

"That's private too!"

"Can I go with you?"

"No!"

Dillon shook his head at his friend's snap response, "Alright, then I'll just follow you until you tell me."

Although Dillon was trying to show a trace of playfulness, Ricky saw right through it, rolling her eyes as she walked herself around Dillon. She was only to be intercepted by him again; a smile plastered across his face once more. The same routine of her going around him and him cutting her off continued for only a few more moments, until Ricky turned and ran down the opposite side of the path.

As she followed the path back home, she could hear Dillon laughing behind her. Of course, this was his way of spending time with her, being Dillon.

She rolled her eyes, still upset that he was being exceedingly nosy that day. She just hoped it didn't keep up.

Ricky looked over her shoulder at Dillon, who was a fair distance behind her.

She sighed, "I'm sorry, Blue."

oOoOo

Blue paced back and forth outside his parents cave, having waited for at least half an hour for the zangoose and seviper to come out.

Unfortunately in Blue's case the two were accepted into his parents cave, and he wasn't permitted to enter until their meeting with the umbreon alphas was to be adjourned. He had tried to enter quit a few times, to only be shooed out by his increasingly frustrated mother. What made him worried was every other time he came in there, she seemed more angered and worried about something. He knew that story was being way over exaggerated, and he was only hoping his parents wouldn't react in a violent way.

What was even worse, he noticed, was a messenger murkrow was sent somewhere towards the east. He was beginning to wonder if it was a message to the espeon, questioning on what exactly they were planning to do. He hadn't seen the dark type messenger since it had left, and was beginning to wonder how long of a journey it took to get to the espeon alphas, if that's where its destination was.

Blue's pacing became quicker and less balanced, huffing and puffing every now and then with his increasing impatience.

"How long can this take?" He mumbled to himself, expression rather cross, "I bet that zangoose is just trying to suffer me more…there's something I just don't like about her and that partner of hers."

As if awfully unplanned, the zangoose and seviper exited the alphas cave, escorted by Blue's parents.

"Thank you very much for the information you shared with us," Blue's mother smiled, although he knew by the looks on her face she wasn't too content about something.

Andrea the zangoose smiled, crossing her arms and smiling back at the alpha female, "It was a pleasure to spend time with you. I anticipate seeing how you will react."

Queen Taylor only nodded, bidding goodbye to the Hoenn trio as they made their way back to wherever they came from.

As the two passed Blue, the shiny umbreon and Andrea shared a death stare, the mongoose Pokémon mouthing 'Good luck' as she disappeared behind the fox.

"Blue!"

The young prince quickly turned his head to the sound of his father's deep voice, the older umbreon staring back with fierce crimson eyes. "When your brother gets home, I want the two of you to come and have a talk with your mother and me." King Rocky paused, examining his youngest son carefully. "It's important."

The shiny umbreon nodded, holding back a gulp as his mother and father reentered the cave.

Whatever importance this meeting would serve, Blue was sure he knew what it would be about. It would be about the lie the Hoenn duo had told the alphas. He knew that if that messenger bird went to where he believed and returned, that the espeon would say they never planned any of these attacks, and weren't planning anything on the umbreon. Although this would be the truth, his parents and all the other umbreon they would soon tell of this wouldn't believe.

He sighed, making his way back to his cave. Right at the entrance, he stopped, looking into the direction in which the beach he met with Ricky was.

"I'm sorry."

He dropped his head in shame, as he disappeared behind the cave walls of his home.

No matter what he did, nothing good would come out of it. Telling that the zangoose had told a lie, his parents wouldn't believe him. How did he know her? How would he know what _really_ happened? How could he tell his parents he went behind the laws of his own parents and actually _befriended_ an espeon?

No matter what the outcome, he was sure something bad would happen. There could just be a small argument, but this was the biggest doubt of it all.

This was already turning out like the war many centuries ago, the one the first umbreon created.

It started out as a small feud between two tribes. Two tribes that never got along and eventually led to the separation of their kind, even away from the other eeveelutions.

Those many centuries ago, no one believe that tiny feud between the different biased beliefs of the first four eeveelutions would lead to such a gruesome and unnecessary war.

Although he couldn't predict the future, and he wasn't sure what the outcome would be, Blue felt somewhere deep inside that something very similar would soon happen.

When he meant soon, he didn't just meant a couple of months or a small amount of years, it was going to be _very_ soon.

This was going to be one of the worst things Johto would ever experience.


	13. The Scarred Umbreon

"_Okay, I'm home," The oldest prince complained as he made his way through the cave entrance, clearly annoyed, "Now what was so important that I had to just come home all of a sudden?"_

"_Watch your attitude," King Rocky scolded his son gently, while his mate looked at their son a bit more censoriously._

_Prince Danny huffed, rolling his crimson eyes as he sat beside his taller father._

"_So, what're we waiting for?" The impatient young adult asked only after seconds of sitting down._

_His mother and father, who were on opposite sides of each other, shared a quick glance without responding to their heir. Danny could only roll his eyes once more as his younger brother stared at him disapprovingly._

_These were just the reasons Blue thought he was better suited for the next King: he was responsible, patience, and not to mention polite and respectful towards his parents. It was as if his parents saw right through their "perfect son's" attitude that he had nearly every single day. Sometimes his mother would show him some bit of discipline, only to get Blue's hopes up until Danny started up again without control._

_The youngest prince sighed, golden eyes looking at his parents, who were oddly enough staring straight at the entrance of their cave. Where they waiting for the messenger bird they had sent somewhere unknown to him earlier? Why hadn't they told their two sons about where the messenger was sent yet?_

_Blue could just wait worriedly as the four royal umbreon sat in silence, more than likely waiting for the return of the murkrow._

_Surely enough, with a raspy breath and tired, fluttering wings, the black bird soon appeared in the cave- his expression anything from the normal calm messenger feel._

_Through his heavy breathing, he managed to interpret a "You Majesty," as he bowed towards the queen and ruled of the umbreon territory. Queen Taylor bowed her head in respect to the messenger, happy to see that their wait for his return was finally over. _

_Danny was the only one who didn't seem eager about the bird's return, since he had a bit of a dislike for the dark type. Blue, however, straightened up anxiously for the messenger's message._

_The small bird had positioned himself beside the queen, all crimson-and gold- eyes on him._

"_I presume you have a message for us, Parker?" Taylor asked, just as anxious as her youngest son to hear the news the murkrow had brought._

_The messenger-Parker- nodded. "Yes, my Queen." The bird's maroon eyes fell to the ground, his crooked yellow beak resting on the warm presence of his crest. _

_The queen frowned, making an assumption that the message would not be the one she had hoped for._

_Parker picked his head back up as he looked back at the queen, taking a deep breath before continuing. "I know this is not the news you were prepared for, so I suggest you brace yourselves for the message I received from King Draco of the espeon territory."_

_Blue felt himself go slightly numb as the murkrow mentioned the name. His guessed of the murkrow's destination had been presumed right the entire time. King Draco was the king and ruler of the espeon territory, mate of Queen Ellie and father of his only child: a princess of Danny's age named Destiny._

_Queen Taylor frowned even more at the mention of her enemy's name, "And?"_

_Parker also frowned, obviously showing he would regret repeating the message Draco must have addressed for Queen Taylor. "Alright. The message might not be accurate to what King Draco had spoken, but I shall try my best."_

_All five souls in the room took a deep breath, even Danny did, as Parker continued._

"'_Well, why don't you tell your Queen this: I find it downright rude and shameful that she would think of my Pokémon to do something so inappropriate. The espeon of my territory haven't set foot in your land for decades, if I am right."_

"_Why-how?-could she believe in two Pokémon who aren't even native to her land? I don't care if there are wounds, I haven't planned anything on the espeon territory, but things might change after this-'"_

_Queen Taylor scoffed at this part of the message, but let Parker continue with his message._

"'_So tell her I think it was ridiculous for her to send a messenger to my land and start pounding us with questions. If she wants trouble, then she'll get trouble, she better settle herself down and gain a bit more maturity.'"_

_The queen growled after the message was finished, causing her mate and two sons to cower from their mother's new attitude. She only got out of her usual calm, joyful state when she was exceedingly upset about something._

_Blue felt his heart rate speed up at watching this, knowing it was turning out just the way he had thought it would be._

"_How dare he say such things about me?" The anger got the better of the Queen, her golden eyes snapping to the murkrow at her side, who also cowered at her sudden change in approach. "I am not immature and I was being calm! I was just making sure to keep my territory safe. Bring me Paul and Henry; also assemble for Claura to come!" Her eyes turned to her mate as the murkrow nodded, quickly flying off to do as was told. "Rocky, you saw their injuries as well? Why would they lie? They seemed too nice…I can't believe it…"_

_King Rocky nodded, not as scared of his wife's rage as his sons, "I couldn't believe it either. I think I know what you want to do, and I think you have a good choice. If they want trouble, we'll give them trouble."_

Blue shivered as he replayed the memory from last night over and over again in his head, pacing around his room worriedly, his face hot as he begin to feel like he was about to sweat.

That night Paul, Henry, and Claura had arrived quickly for the emergency meeting with the umbreon alphas, eager to know what on Johto was going on.

The shiny umbreon couldn't help but eavesdrop with his older brother Danny as the meeting they were not invited to attend went through place. It seemed this was the only time the two brothers could actually bond.

Blue remembered as they sat at the top of the steps, catching here and there's of the conversation from the cave floor below.

He remembered how his parent's had mentioned that "the time had come" over and over repetitively. What they had meant by that, he had yet to find out, but he had an awful feeling about it and the rage his parents had suddenly contained.

Paul and Henry were told to ready their warriors, and Claura was told to warn and prepare the nurses of the clinic.

He knew exactly what was happening: his parents were planning a full blown out ambush on the espeon tribe, upset with the way they had handled the message.

He knew each side believed a different theory.

The umbreon, completely convinced that the lie they were told by the zangoose and seviper was true, believed the espeon were already planning an ambush on _them_.

The espeon, who were obstructively confused with what was going on, had denied they were even thinking of such and had called Blue's mother immature in the process of it.

He knew both alphas were clearly upset, and no matter how many times he talked with his mother, it seemed there was nothing he could do about it.

Blue know knew he had to betray someone.

He had to betray his own family, who he had been loyal and faithful to since the day he was born; or the espeon he had come to know and develop feelings for.

Blue groaned frustratingly, bashing his head with his paw twice while wincing from the emotional and physical pain of it all.

"I can't stand this anymore…" He said through tears, looking to the exit of his room. "I can't stop the war…but I can warn Ricky-" Blue paused, taking a long and regretful sigh, "-I also have to tell her everything…she'll probably hate me afterwards…but if I can warn her maybe she can have the espeon tribe prepared…"

His golden eyes traced over to his door again.

"It's worth a shot."

He carried his heavy, numb legs out of the exit of his room…

…Down the many stone steps of the staircase…

…Then through the main room, and out of the cave…

Some form of life came back into him, the cool breeze of the mid-day wind flushing into his fur. All forms of regret seemed to come back to him.

His regret for lying to Ricky the whole time, as he befriended her and even started this whole mess…how he had let two whole tribes down…how he didn't say a word to his two best friends as they visited him last night as planned.

The shiny umbreon prince looked to the son, which shone bleakly behind the clouds that targeted to cover its majestic shine.

He may lose a friend in the process, but at least he was helping warn a whole tribe about the ambush that was soon to come to them anytime soon.

He looked to the left, towards the path that would take him to the beach.

He heaved one last sigh, before he came onto the path and followed it.

Several thoughts swarmed his mind about the reactions Ricky might give him. He knew it would hurt her in some way, and that she would feel betrayed and used.

There was huge doubt in the fact that she would thank him and still be his friend. He expected for her to yell at him, call him disgusting things and disgraceful thoughts. He would accept all of this without questioning himself, knowing it would be the truth. He just hoped he wouldn't make her cry; he didn't want to see her hurt.

As the images of her reaction played in his head, he made his way to behind Stinky Pete's shop, his golden eyes set on the brush that covered up the insane beauty that was the beach…and the beauty of the espeon he had come to know.

He sighed, taking a step forward.

He was stopped at the sound of steps behind him, making him turn instantly and come face to face with scarred red eyes.

He knew instantly that this was the one that had been watching him the whole times, the one who knew of his meetings with Ricky.

Who it was, thought, brought him into downright shock.

The umbreon opposite him chuckled softly in the prince's surprise, "Hello, Prince Blue."

Blue scanned his golden eyes of the umbreon in front of him, "…-S-Stinky Pete? You-You're the one that's been watching me?"

The old umbreon smiled, the stench of his grimer-stained breath reaching Blue, who covered his nose rather hurriedly.

"Stinky" Pete was an umbreon even older than Blue's father, with two permanent scares running through his left eyes and golden rings that didn't shine as bright as Blue's- simply because he was aging and the shine of his golden bands were beginning to fade.

"I see you call me by my nickname," The older umbreon chuckled kindly, "I remember when you and you friends were just eevees, and that girl began to call me "Stinky Pete". I don't despise the nickname; I am just shocked at how it spread around. You haven't talked to me much since you were an eevee?"

Blue smiled while still holding his nose, remembering how Elizabeth was the one who started the debut of Pete's nickname.

The smile from Pete's face quickly faded, as did Blue's as he saw this.

"No, on to other matters," The elder began, "I heard about the ambush, and I know where you've been going and who you've been going with. I apologize if I've been a little nosy, I was just worried the first time that you were entering espeon territory, and when I saw you meeting with that espeon…well…I followed just to make sure you didn't get hurt…"

"You mean-" Blue began, "-You saw what really-"

"Indeed," Pete interrupted, "I know, that blasted zangoose told a lie. Who would believe us though? I'm just an old man and you're a naïve young prince-"

"Naïve?" Blue commented, raising a brow as he dropped his paw from his nose. He had become accustomed to the stench, and it was like it wasn't even there anymore.

Pete chuckled, "Well, you _are_ friends with an espeon…" The older umbreon also raised a brow, "A female…I see."

Blue felt his cheeks grow hot, and knew he must've been blushing by the amused expression etched on the older umbreon's face.

"Well, Blue," Pete began, "There's a reason I showed myself today, and I would like to talk to you about something. Why not come into my shop?"

Blue nodded, following the older umbreon into his shop.

The umbreon stared in awe as he entered the shop, a place he hadn't been to since he was indeed a young eevee.

From seeing Stinky Pete, you would believe the shop would be rusty and littered with filth, but it was like any other store. It was filled with used goods that were still in mint condition, clean floors and neat backgrounds.

"Take a seat," Pete instructed Blue, as the two sat in the middle of the shop facing each other.

Blue looked at Pete eagerly, ready for the older male to begin his story.

The umbreon pointed to the two scars on his left eye, "I'm sure you've always wondered exactly _where_ I got these?"

Blue nodded, jaw agape as he stared on with complete curiosity.

Pete smiled at how the shiny umbreon still reminded him of the little gray eevee who used to visit his shop every day, and how he missed the days that the eevee's company had left him.

"Well, it's a rather sad story…" Pete began, the old man's usual smile fading into a frown. "I know you've never heard this story, because it's usually forbidden to speak of. I still tell others about it, however, because I will never forget it, so why shouldn't I tell it."

"Before you were born, when I was a young adult your brother's age and your mother and father were just pups, I lived alone in this shop. It was much more popular back then, and I usually had customers every day. My only off days were on the weekend and I usually spent my time wandering around the territory."

"I came across a beach one day, the one that was right by my home. I was surprised to find it there; I lived right by it and had never yet discovered it!"

"While I was there, I came across a young girl, maybe eight years of age. She was an espeon, one who had evolved quite a bit younger than usual, and her evolution came with a deformity that left her unable to walk."

"She told of how she was an orphan, with no parents, no place to go, and no hope left. I couldn't just leave her there, being the hearty soul I am, so I snuck her home."

"She was especially intrigued with my shop, as I had to carry her around my back nearly everywhere I went. I hid her in the back of my shop, where it was forbidden for anyone to go. I took her in as my own daughter, and renamed her Nancy and she refused to go by or be called by her previous one."

"Nancy helped with many ideas in this shop, causing it to become even more popular and for me to grow even wealthier."

"For years Nancy and I grew in money, and our relationship broadened. Even though she wasn't even my own daughter, it felt like she truly was, and I loved her."

Pete paused from his story, a single tear falling off his cheek, before he quickly apologized and continued with his story.

"One day…I got reports that I must've been hiding something…and your grandfather came to inspect my shop. There was no time to get Nancy out, and he found her."

"Now…your grandfather. He wasn't as gentle as your mother and he…he…he killed my one and only pride I had left. He murdered Nancy right in front of my eyes, and ordered for me to be put behind bars forever."

"I pleaded for him not too, and even told I would give him every bit of money I had just to keep me away from that wretched place. Being the greedy king he was, he took the offer, and left me to live a lonely life in my shop. I was allowed to give a proper burial for my daughter, and ever since the day of her death I haven't had as many customers as I used to."

Blue felt tears swelling in his own eyes as Stinky Pete continued on his past, but one question hadn't been answered just yet.

The older umbreon wiped a tear from his eyes, trying to hold back the sadness as he continued the story. "Oh yes…my scars…I apologize I got too caught up in the story to tell you how I got them."

"While I was protecting my orphaned daughter, your grandfather slashed me across the left eye, and I was temporarily blind for a few weeks before the sight came back in my eye. It is a wound I will forever have."

Blue looked at the umbreon's left eye, at the two clean, old cuts that where imprinted on Pete's face. The thought of his own family member doing something so cruel…he never really knew his grandfather…he now knew the truth of his territory's past king.

Finally, after his story was finished, the old umbreon broke down in tears, Blue quickly jumping to his hide and hugging the older male in comfort.

"Pete…" The shiny umbreon whispered, silent tears flowing down his cheeks smoothly, "I'm so sorry."

The older male shook his head, his tears and whining quickly subsiding, "Don't apologize and take the fault just for something your grandfather did. He had every right to do it…I took in an outsider of our tribe without permission…"

"But still-" Blue stated, but was cut off when Pete broke from the hug with a now serious look.

"Listen to me, Blue," The crimson-eyed umbreon stated, cheeks still stained with tears. "There's no way we can stop what's going to happen. Go to that espeon girlfriend of yours, tell her the truth. I know she might not react well, but you have to deal with it. It's either lose her as a friend, or lose her forever.

"Don't let her end up like Nancy did. She can do something to help, tell her. Do this for me, in the memory for Nancy. Please, Prince Blue."

For once in his life, Blue felt a slight annoyance at his new nickname.

His golden eyes shot at the umbreon, determined and ready. "Thank you, Pete. I will do as you wish, and I can promise you that."

The umbreon made his way to the exit of the shop, but was stopped by the response of his elder friend.

"Thank you…" The umbreon grinned from ear to ear…" Thank you…so much, Prince Blue."

"Please," The young prince smiled, glancing over his shoulder at Pete, "Call me Thomas."

Pete grinned joyfully, watching as the shiny umbreon finally exited from his cave.

The shiny umbreon looked at the beach determinedly, stopping at the entrance to the brush.

"Well…" Blue said, looking over his shoulder then quickly looking back at the path to the beach, "It's now or never."


	14. Secrets

Ricky sighed as she rubbed her paw gently across the sand of the quiet little beach, the quiet afternoon seething around her. Her heart and mind were filled with regret and remorse for her lies, as her thoughts raced back to Dillon.

She had run from him that whole day, when he had caught up to her they would argue again. He even ran into her that morning, but she quickly shrugged him off and left him in the dust behind her.

Sure, he was being pushy and nosy about her business and whereabouts, but she could see his reasons. Maybe she wasn't being herself, especially around him. Some of the feeling she had first had form him had dried up and vanished, and she just wasn't the same way with him. Of course he was like an older brother to her, just like Mitch was.

Then again, she was still running off to places she didn't tell anyone about. If there was someone to tell it was one of her best friends, and sometimes her half-brother or father, but not this time.

She had lied to the point that she had just become sick of it. She even lied to her father, who was one of the only ones she could even trust anymore, one of the only ones _he _could trust anymore. She had even let him down.

What about Blue, though? How did he feel about it? Of course it seemed as if he never spent time with his family, but he still had to lie to somebody. Right?

Ricky sighed doubtfully, not knowing what to do. Of course she wanted to stop lying to her family and friends, who had been there for her for as long as she could remember (especially her father), but then again she also wanted to keep her friendship with Blue.

Speaking of Blue, she hadn't seen him that whole morning. This was odd, since everytime she came to the beach he was almost always there. Maybe he was busy, or wasn't coming today. She wasn't there yesterday, had that sent him a message she didn't want to see him anymore?

She shook her head, she knew there was a time she hadn't shown up and yet he still came to visit her. Maybe he was just late…

Her questions seemed to be answered immediately, if not ironically, as a certain shiny umbreon stepped courageously onto the beach.

The adolescent espeon's blue scleras lit up instantly, a smile broadening across her face. "Blue!" She cried, trotting over to the anxious male, "I've been waiting for you."

The shiny umbreon knew he had to be brave, brave for Ricky, brave for Pete, brave for himself.

His golden irises looked into her blue orbs, feeling the same warmth in him as he did everytime he saw her. He didn't want to lose her, but he knew he probably would. If it kept her safe though, maybe it _was_ worth it.

A smile tugged at Ricky's lips, wondering why he hadn't responded to her yet. He ushered a small smile back, but it quickly evaporated back into its simple frown, his golden eyes falling loosely to the ground.

Earlier it seemed it was going to be easy to tell her, and her reaction would've been okay, simple. He would've gotten over it easy. Now that he was here, though, he realized that wasn't how it was going to work out.

They liked each other; he even seemed to like her more than just that. They had become close, even though they only knew each other over a short amount of time. It was just one of those clicks, and they bonded like they knew each other for years.

If that was the case, it was going to hurt her tons more than it would him.

The lavender feline bent down on her knees, to where she could look into Blue's eyes- which were still averted to the sand below. He glanced at her once she did this, but quickly flickered his sight back even after her sweet smile.

She could tell something was wrong with him, causing a frown too also creep its way across her face. "Blue, what's wrong?"

The older teenager slightly cringed at the use of his nickname, which he seemed to find inacceptable anymore.

A sudden burst of courage flamed inside his chest, causing him to pick his head up; Ricky's straightening herself up as well.

"Ricky, you remember when we saved your friend Watson, right?" The shiny umbreon asked, his whole body feeling light and icy.

The espeon nodded, not curious as to what the shiny umbreon was getting on to.

"You also remember the zangoose and seviper we fought, right?"

Ricky nodded.

Blue felt a lump in his throat, knowing what he would have to say next. He took a deep breath, before quickly continuing in his story.

"Well, they visited the alphas in my territory the other day," He began, "They told them a lie: that they were attacked by dozens of espeon for no certain reason. So the alphas sent a messenger to question the espeon alphas if it was true, and of course they said no. It wasn't true, and your king sent a message to my mother about her being childish, and now she already wants to plan an ambush on your territory. You need to prepare yourself, and your territory."

After the mouth loud of information Blue had just given, Ricky stared back astonished. At first she didn't believe him, but no hint of doubt was spread across his face, making her believe it.

She couldn't, though. There was no way this could happen.

The lavender feline stared back in disbelief, dumbfounded for only a few seconds, before breaking into an outburst.

"What's going to happen?" She asked worriedly as she began to pace back in forth in front of Blue, "What will I do? Blue, what's-"

She stopped immediately, in her pacing and speaking. Her blue scleras slowly found their way to Blue, staring at him in awe.

"Wait a second," She breathed, taking a step toward him. "Did you say they sent a message to your mother? I thought you were talking about the alphas!"

Blue sighed, "You also remember the zangoose calling me Thomas, right?"

Ricky cocked a brow, giving Blue a 'go on' look.

"Do you know anything about the umbreon alphas and their children?" Blue asked, "Like I know about the espeon?"

Ricky nodded, "I'm sure I do. The leader is Queen Taylor, and then there's her mate King Rocky. They have to boys: their heir is the oldest, Prince Daniel, and they have a second son, a shiny umbreon; Prince-"

Ricky stopped mid-sentence, her blue scleras making contact with Blue's golden orbs.

"Prince Thomas."

Ricky stared back at him, her emotions unclear to him as she examined him carefully, taking a few more steps closer to him.

"So that's your secret."

The shiny umbreon nodded, although Ricky more than likely didn't see. She was refusing to make eye contact with him, not to mention she wasn't even looking at him.

To make it all worse, she had even turned her back on him, her head lowered and her eyes looking to the ground.

"Wow," She chuckled, a sort of choke to her voice as she held back tears that threatened to fall.

"Ricky, please don't be mad at me," Blue pleaded quietly, staring at the unmoving espeon in front of him.

His heart began to beat with worry, taking a few steps towards her. Still, she didn't move a muscle.

"Ricky-"

A small laugh escaped from the espeon, causing Blue's ears to perk up.

He listened to hear if any more sign came from her, but she stayed silent, not even budging.

"Ricky-"

"Just shut up, okay!" The feline yelled, spinning around and facing the older male. Her blue scleras looked up at the shocked umbreon, who in return hadn't expected her to do anything like that.

Ricky's brow were no furrowed, her narrowed eyes locked on the shiny umbreon in front of her.

"So you're a prince?" She asked, taking a step towards him. Blue only took a step back in return, obviously frightened from this new side of the usual happy, sympathetic espeon. "Why didn't you ever tell me this?"

"Well, I-"

"You lied!" She countered, eyes burning hot with tears. "I thought I could trust you! What if you were planning to kill me? Use me? How can you prove you wouldn't do that?"

"Ricky, please listen to me." The shiny umbreon pleaded, ceasing a few minutes of time to talk. "I know I should've told you. You told me a lot about you, and yet I restrained from telling you my real identity. I can understand why you would think this. But I need you to warn your territory, I told you this so you could be safe."

For a split second, the rage dropped from Ricky's face, letting her thoughts swarm around what Blue had just said. Could she trust the one who had seemingly betrayed her trust?

She sighed, "You lied to me, Blue."

A small sense of hope tried to find its way inside of Blue, until Ricky looked up at him.

All hope washed away at the stare she gave him. She had lost the cold, upset look in her eyes she had earlier. Now what he saw were saddened, heartbroken eyes that looked back up at him. He couldn't find the happiness in them like he once had.

A single tear formed its way out of her eye, flowing gently down her cheek.

Silence filled around them, the yelling from earlier causing all signs of life to stop and watch the scene before them. The quiet Pokémon unseen in the water and in the forest close by watched with interest, waiting for what would happen next.

Ricky heaved a choked breath, as more tears followed into the path of the first, the espeon's blue scleras disappearing under lavender lids as the espeon pointed her snout to the ground.

Blue lifted a paw as if he was going to step forward and comfort her, but was stopped by the small "No" that escaped her lips.

Ricky only looked up at Blue one more time, a cold, hard stare locked on him through tear-stained eyes.

"You disgust me."

Blue stared with his mouth agape, frozen in his steps as he kept the locked gaze with Ricky. His veins went ice cold, his body motionless. It wasn't what she had said that had left him dumbfounded; it was the tone she had used.

The tone itself sounded disgusted; disappointed.

He had let her down, and it broke him somewhere deep inside.

As her tears began to grow more in their strengths, Ricky felt a strong urge to be away from Blue. Just being around him hurt her even more than his lies and betrayal, and it were killing her.

Without any further notice, she stood up, and began to walk away. She was still huffing as she tried to sustain her tears, but it was ending up in complete and utter failure for the feline.

Blue followed suit seconds after she had begun to walk away, running in front of her, stopping the both of them.

"I know you probably hate me," He sighed, eyes locked on the espeon's forehead as she was refusing to look up, "But please don't leave just yet. I'm sorry for everything, I just need to prove to you-"

"Let me go."

Golden eyes widened, "But-"

"Look." The espeon stated firmly through her tears, looking up and locking eyes with him for one last time. "If you cared about me enough to go behind your own family and warn me about this ambush, then you should care enough to let me go."

They shared that last glance carefully, wishing that the other would only understand. They waited forever for who would make the first move, tears still running down the espeon's face and the shiny umbreon contemplating her statement.

Their eye contact broke as Blue stepped out of the way, allowing the lavender feline to step by him.

He watched her go, her steps staying calm and well-paced.

"Remember me."

For a split second, Blue could've sworn Ricky stopped after hearing his wish, but he couldn't tell since it had happened so quickly.

The last he saw of her was when she disappeared behind the brush, leaving him to stare at nothing.

He stood there forever, seeing if she would come back. If she would tell him she understood his reasons for lying and that she had just reacted out of sheer surprise.

She didn't come back.

The noise around the beach quickly returned, bringing back the peaceful state as life went on.

The shiny umbreon hadn't budged; hopeful golden eyes still locked on the place Ricky had left.

She wouldn't come back.

His head dropped in defeat, accepting the fact that she probably would never forgive him. His only hope for the espeon now were that she would tell the espeon alpha's in enough time to warn them.

She wasn't the only one who could help, though.

The shiny umbreon looked to the forest that contained the boundary line of the espeon and umbreon territory.

There was one more thing he could do to help, but he wasn't sure if it was possible for him, or if it would even work.

The rage in his mother and father's eyes flashed through his mind, telling him they wouldn't forget. He was just a teenager, he couldn't prove them wrong. He was just one umbreon.

There was someone else, though.

The pubescent male umbreon began to walk slowly in the direction his eyes were locked on. He reached the border of the beach and the forest, near the place he and Ricky had lay so peacefully the night before.

He stopped, giving himself one last time to look to the place Ricky had left at.

"I'll never forget you."

He then broke off into a quick run, determined to reach his destination in time.

He would do whatever it took to stop this upcoming war, even if it meant risking his life.

oOoOo

Ricky slowly trailed her way back home, sniffling as tears remained to fall down her face.

Yea, maybe she had overacted a little bit back there. She still felt like it was needed. She had felt betrayed, and Blue was to blame.

It had only been a week and although it was hard to admit, she was beginning to have feelings for him. Now, she didn't know what to feel. Everything was spinning around in her head, giving her headaches.

She remembered nearly every word of the fight she controlled, the breaking feeling she felt when she looked into his eyes, the last thing he said to her.

Remember me.

"How could I forget…?" She mumbled to herself, causing more tears to choke up and soak out of her eyes once more.

She groaned, upset with how she was tearing up so badly. She stopped to quietly whine to herself, far from home and away from her friends.

So she thought.

"Ricky?"

The lavender feline wiped her eyes as she glanced to where the voice had emanated from, her blue scleras finding their way into lilac.

Dillon.

If she was in any other mood and had seen this as him following her again, she would've been upset and annoyed with Dillon. Not now, though. He was the only one there, and she sought comfort in him.

She quickly ran to his side, putting her cheeks against his chest and continuing to let the tears fall.

The male espeon was shocked at first, but quickly supported his best friend, wrapping his tail around her and placing his chin on her head. She needed him now, and he was going to be there for her.

He placed on paw on hers, rubbing it in an attempt to calm her. "Shh…no need to cry now."

Ricky almost laughed with how wrong he was; her friend's innocence the main source to cheering her up. He didn't know what had happened, but she was sure he would understand. Dillon was and would always be there for her, even if they had had a little disagreement the day before, they were friends and that's what mattered most to the two.

Through tears, the upset female managed to sustain a simple sentence:

"Something bad is going to happen."

The male espeon cocked a brow, "Oh?"

Calmed down a bit, Ricky pulled herself away from Dillon, looking up at him with significance. "There's going to be a war, we have to warn the alphas."

Dillon chuckled in disbelief, half-way believing her and half-way doubting her sudden news. "Ricky, what're you talking about?"

The lavender feline sniffled through her slowing tears, knowing she would have to admit the truth. "I've been going to the beach, a place me and my mother went to together, for years."

Dillon listened intently, sitting down as he prepared to hear his friend's story.

"I ran into a shiny umbreon there, one day-"

An unintelligible noise came from the other espeon, but Ricky quickly shrugged it off after her interruption. "I kind of became his friend. I know I wasn't thinking straight, but he seemed like a nice guy. I've been going to the beach to meet him for the past week. I thought I could trust him, but…he had a secret."

"One of the first days we met my taillow friend at the beach- Watson- was stolen by a zangoose and her seviper companion. The umbreon and I helped Watson's parents save their son, and in doing so we fought the zangoose and seviper."

"Just earlier I saw the umbreon again, and he told me that the zangoose had visited the umbreon alphas the other day and had told a lie: that multiple espeon had attacked them for no reason. The umbreon alphas questioned the espeon alphas about it, and of course they denied it ever happened, and King Draco sent some other message directly to the Queen of the umbreon. Her and her mates were enraged about it and are planning an ambush on our territory."

"That's horrible!" Dillon gasped, "We've got to tell somebody!"

The male espeon had already stood up, ready to run and report to whole espeon territory. Ricky, however, stayed behind in the same place.

Dillon stopped; his lilac scleras on Ricky.

He didn't have to say nothing; she knew he was watching; wondering why she hadn't followed.

"Blue really hurt me." She continued, as if she was talking to herself. "I was really beginning to like him. He lied to me all this time. He never told me he was the Prince…Prince Thomas."

Although the espeon had a sudden hatred to the umbreon who had hurt his best friend, he still felt sympathy for her. He knew how it was like.

Dillon slowly made his way back to Ricky's side, placing a paw on her shoulder which caused the female to look up at him inquiringly.

"Come on," He said, "We've got something we need to do."

Ricky managed a smile, something she hadn't done in quite a while. Her friend smiled back, sharing one last look before they began to make their way down the path away from the beach.

To Ricky, it got her farther away from Blue. That was all she wanted at the moment.

What she didn't know, however, was that Blue was already miles away.

Because he too knew this could come to war, and he was taking any chance he could to help his territory.


	15. The North Side

The prince kept running even until the point where his legs just became plain out sore. He felt like he had been running for days…weeks…when he had only been going for a matter of hours.

He knew he didn't have time to waste, and he was desperate to hurry since the case was this serious.

He had rarely heard of the north side, yet he knew enough about it to know where it was and what it was like.

Although he hadn't heard much of the territory's alpha, he knew it was a male and a strong one at that. The alpha was reasonable, wise, and oddly enough at that: young. His father and mother had recently died early in their lives, leaving him to control the place. He was without a mate, but enough to rule the territory.

The north side could be considered enemies of the west and east sides, but they weren't. They respected opinions more and weren't so biased. They let their eevee's evolve into whatever they wanted; even espeon and umbreon resided there in peace. Blue had even heard some of the espeon and umbreon from the east and west side had escaped there for peace, while most others stayed to be loyal to their kind.

Of course, Blue could've gone there himself. Although he was a prince and would be of course noticed most of all. He knew his parent's would search for him, and although he was almost eighteen he didn't know what he would do without them.

Although he was still very much upset for what had happened with Ricky, he still told himself he was doing this for her as well as the many others who could be in the most possible upcoming war.

Maybe he was crazy, but he couldn't help it. He cared for an espeon, although not the first, he cared severely for this one. He would do whatever it took to save her as much as he wanted to his own family.

Only a week's time it took for him to feel this way, and now he was accepting it. Accepting it at the time she hated him most, at the time she saw him as a horrible individual.

"_You disgust me…"_

Her words still stung inside him as he heard her say it over and over again, in the most hateful voice he had ever heard. Was he really so bad? He hated that he had hurt her so much, and wanted to make it up to her.

How though?

He groaned on the inside, his running pace growing slower as adrenaline kicked off and he began to feel the aching pain in the muscles of his legs.

Although he was hesitant to, he stopped for a little bit; for the first time since he had begun running.

He tried not to keep his breaths quick and raspy, instead being calm with them so he wouldn't attract any attention: so others wouldn't think he was choking or dying or something.

"Sam?"

A feminine voice caught Blue's attention, as he looked up to stare back into big brown eyes. As the female made eye contact with him, identifying the male, she frowned.

"Oh, sorry," She apologized, dropping her head in embarrassment, "I thought you were my brother- he's a shiny umbreon too."

Blue nodded at the female, noticing her as a female leafeon. She looked to be around the same age as him, but a few years older.

Could she be a sign that he had neared the north side?

As he looked at her again, he noticed she was looking around again, un-doubtfully for the brother she had thought was Blue at first.

The umbreon prince took a step forward to her. "Excuse me?" He asked, trying to catch her attention.

His objective didn't go unsuccessful, as the young adult leafeon stopped her searching and stared back at him in curiosity, waiting for him to go on.

Seeing as he had her undivided attention, he continued with his question. "Would you happen to know if I'm anywhere close to the north territory?"

The leafeon smiled, "You're not from around here, I suppose?"

Blue nodded.

The leafeon cocked a brow, catching on to the shiny umbreon's reasons for being around her homeland. "And I believe you would like to speak with my alpha, Alec?"

The shiny umbreon nodded again, sustaining a chuckle this time at his slight amazement of the girl's correct predictions. "I would like for that, if you could take me to him." His expression quickly turned serious. "It's very important."

Taking the serious expression on the prince's face into note, the leafeon didn't crack any joke or laugh at what he was saying. "I choose to believe you. What is your name, shiny?"

Blue hesitated, "I'm Thomas: prince of the west territory."

The leafeon looked a bit shocked at his statement, "It's not every day we have a prince here…I'm guessing this must be _extremely_ important information, if I presume correct?"

"Yes," Blue answered with regret, "I would tell you, but I would just like for Alec to know only…"

The older eeveelution nodded, "That's fine." She looked back over her shoulder, then back to the umbreon prince in front of her. "Alec's a good friend of mine; I can take you to him."

The shiny umbreon smiled with gratitude, "That would be great…but, what about your brother?"

The leafeon rolled her eyes, "Eh, he's just being a teenager. If he doesn't come back by tonight I'll worry."

Blue chuckled at the leafeon, understanding how it was with siblings. Although, he had always wondered if it would be worse with a _younger _sibling.

"Follow me this way, Prince Thomas."

The shiny umbreon nodded, following suit as the leafeon led him to the alpha of the territory. He had yet wondered _exactly_ how he was going to explain this all to Alec…and if the alpha male would understand and follow through with the young prince's plan.

"By the way," The leafeon spoke up from in front of him, causing him to turn his attention to her, "My name's Harley."

"Oh." Blue responded as he made his way up beside the grass type. "So, Harley, how long have you know Alec?" He asked as he was now walking alongside her.

"For a few years now," She responded, a smile spreading across her face, "I knew him when he was eight and I was almost seven, but we had this big fight and didn't talk for another twelve years."

Blue dropped his head and ears, remembering the fight between him and Ricky. Would their fight end up like Alec and Harleys? Would he not talk to her for ten or fifteen years?

He sighed, trying to get the thought out of his head.

"What was the fight about?" He asked, growing curious to find the similarities in both of the two fights.

Harley laughed, shaking her head in disapproval of the memory. "It's kind of my stupid fault, actually. When Alec started spending time with another eevee I got a bit jealous, and told him only I could be his best friend. It kind of went downhill from there…but we were kids! It was like we knew how stupid the fight was…"

The shiny umbreon frowned, what if his and Ricky's fight was stupid? Who even started the fight, anyways?

Blue sighed, "It's great that your friends again, though."

The leafeon sighed happily, her brown eyes averting to the ground as she recalled another memory. "Yea, I'm happy for it. We just bumped into each other one day a few years back and got to talking again, and realized how much we had missed each other. We're now closer than ever," She added, planting a smile across her face.

The umbreon prince brought a joyful grin out for Harley, but couldn't say he was so happy himself. Harley and Alec had just bumped into each other somehow, but he doubted he would ever see Ricky again.

He still remembered how angry and hurt she look, how could she forgive him now?

He sighed quietly to himself, being patient as Harley led him to the north side.

Which the journey didn't take long, which Blue had predicted since Harley more than likely wouldn't wander too far from her home- but she still was looking for her brother, which _was_ important.

Blue felt a bit bothered with himself that he had taken away Harley from finding her brother, even though she was sure he was going to come back.

Shrugging it off, Blue's eyesight was drifted to the new sight in front of him- as the trail transformed into an open plain, with lush grass and gracious flowers blooming everywhere.

The shiny umbreon's golden eyes light up, as he forgot about his troubles and took steps forward, taking in the beauty.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Harley chuckled, stepping up beside the younger umbreon.

He nodded, "It is. It must be amazing to live here!"

The leafeon chuckled again, this time softer. "I'm sure the west side is just as amazing."

Blue's attention turned to the many eevee children playing at a near distance, their parents- a mix of all the eeveelutions- were sitting around to watch, smiles on their face.

This place was peaceful.

"I doubt it is," Blue finally responded, watching all the other north side inhabitants roam around in their homeland. He looked achingly at them, wishing his territory wasn't so biased and rivaled against the east.

Harley beamed, she was glad to see the shiny umbreon happy again. When there was silence and she was guiding him to the north side, she had glanced at him several times while he walked on oblivious to her actions. He looked upset and remorseful about something, and of course she was too unsure to ask him. She really felt bad for him, even if she didn't know the case that had brought him into such a negative state.

"Alec was around here earlier," The leafeon began, easily remembering why she had led the prince here for, as she scanned around the area for her close friend and alpha. "I guess we'll just have to find him."

Blue nodded, cutting off his excitement for the new area and turning to Harley. He knew he didn't come here to look at the view, as he had important business to discuss with the Alec, the alpha.

The young adult leafeon began to scan her brown eyes around the area, in search for Alec. "He should be around here somewhere-"

Harley stopped abruptly in her sentence, causing Blue to focus his attention at her.

The leafeon's brown eyes were locked on something behind the shiny umbreon, an angered and annoyed expression now printed on her face.

"Sam!" She yelled, causing his Blue's to jump. The female stomped past him, causing him to spin around and watch what was going on.

Only a few feet away there was a group of about seven or eight teenage eeveelutions, who all had their attention focused on the upset leafeon who stood in front of them. Blue spotted a shiny umbreon in the group that did sort of resemble him, as he looked to his older sister in fear.

"What is going on?" Harley asked again, her voice rose. "I thought you had left the territory! You had me worried! How could you-"

"Sis…" The shiny umbreon interrupted, a little embarrassed in front of his snickering friends, "Let me explain-"

"No!" The leafeon interrupted this time, "Mom is always telling me to watch you, and you're always tricking me like this!"

Sam, the shiny umbreon, finally became annoyed as well with his sister. "Why don't you quite acting like mom! I'm fifteen, I can care for myself!"

"You're so immature!" Harley groaned, as she attempted to end the fight by storming off.

Her brother, however, stopped her in her tracks as he spoke up once more. "Oh, what're you going to do now? Go cry to, Alec?"

Although Sam couldn't see his sister's astonished expression, he was still satisfied he had her attention and that he was grabbing a few laughs out of his friends.

"He doesn't even like you, you know?" Sam bragged on, Blue doubtful whether or not the shiny umbreon was telling the truth. "He thinks you're annoying, and he's right!"

Sam and his friends began to laugh and carry on again, as Harley dropped her head in shame. Blue was about to go and cheer her up and say something to her brother, but was stopped by someone else.

"Alright, Sam!" A jolteon spoke up, showing a face of disapproval towards the gossiping teenagers. "Leave your sister alone, go somewhere else for now."

The teenagers quickly shook their heads, doing as told quickly when they were instructed by the jolteon.

Harley hadn't noticed the jolteons appearance as Blue had, and was surprised when he walked up beside her and nuzzled her cheek.

"Hey stranger."

A warm smile came across the leafeon's face as she saw the jolteon, "Hey, Alec."

The alpha smiled back at his friend, then quickly realizing the shiny umbreon that was watching from a few feet away.

"Oh, who's this?"

Harley looked at Blue, smiling at him in reassurance she hadn't forgotten him. "Oh, this is Prince Thomas. He is the prince of the west territory; he said he had something important to speak to you with."

Alec cocked a brow, purple eyes eyeing Blue carefully. "Oh, does he?"

Blue couldn't help but get a little bit nervous from Alec. The jolteon had a fairly deep voice, was taller and stronger, and not to mention older.

Reassurance washed over the prince as Alec grinned at him, chuckling jokingly.

"What is this important business you wish to discuss with me?"

Blue sighed, knowing he would now have to explain the situation. His only hope was that the young alpha could help and would understand his reasons for coming.

"Well, you know about the feud between the west and east sides, right? The espeon and umbreon rivalry?"

Alec and Harley nodded. Although Harley really wasn't an alpha, Blue felt comfortable with telling her about this as well. He then began to tell a story that was beginning to give him a headache with telling others all the time about it.

"Well, a zangoose and a seviper visited my parents the other day, and told them that a group of espeon had attacked them for no random reason. The zangoose said that the espeon were oddly deep in the umbreon territory, which made my mother and father feel very threatened."

"When they sent a messenger to the espeon alpha's to ask if this was true, and the king of the espeon said no, and sent a message to my mother that upset her. Something evil corrupted inside of her, which soon rose into my father, now they're planning an ambush on the espeon."

Harley gasped, while Alec looked at the umbreon prince seriously. "So, the espeon lied about their kind's attacks?"

Blue sighed, "No, the zangoose was the one who lied…"

The jolteon alpha tilted his head inquisitively, "How do you know, Thomas?"

"That's another story," Blue frowned, hesitant to tell someone else about his many encounters with Ricky.

"Well, then go on with it," Alec stated, "There's no time to waste."

The umbreon prince nodded, knowing he had to tell Alec or the story wouldn't make sense.

So he started about how he had ran into Ricky at the mysterious beach, and how they had fought and she had saved him instead of killed him. He told of their journey of becoming friends, about the real incident with the zangoose and seviper, and then he came down all the way to the fight. It was necessary to include, as Ricky was the only espeon at that time who knew about the ambush, and the fate of her territory was in her hands- whether she chose to share the news or not.

Alec frowned, although a look of worry never crossed his face. "I understand why you came here. You need our help, do you?"

Blue nodded, "Yes. I really hope you can accept and understand. I saw my mother…there's no way I can convince her how stupid this is. Maybe someone else can…"

The jolteon nodded, not hesitating on his decision. "I will help. I must warn you though; we will not make it back in time to stop the fight from happening."

The shiny umbreon's golden eyes widened, "What? We have too-"

"Calm down!" Alec instructed, "I know about these wars, we have no time to waste and the chance is highly likely that we will not make it in time when the fight starts. We could make it a few minutes after, however. I can gather some fighters to come and help try to stop the espeon and umbreon and talk some sense into them. We have to be lucky enough to find where the fight will occur, but I think I know where that will be, too."

"My father taught me well, Blue," Alec added in after seeing the astonished look on the dark type's face.

The shiny umbreon nodded, still shocked with how quickly Alec had accepted the decision. "So you're just going to go in and try to stop a fight that isn't yours? Not that I don't want you to or anything, but how are you brave enough?" Blue asked.

Alec beamed, "I love each and every one of my kind, even the ones of the west and east territories, and I will not let something like this happen."

Blue grinned gratefully, "Thank you."

"Anytime," Alec responded before turning his attention to the leafeon beside him, "Harley, I need you to tell the other where I'm going, I don't have time too. You stay here and take care of the place while I'm gone."

The jolteon and umbreon were already preparing to go and recruit the fighter, but were stopped by the pleas of the young adult leafeon.

"Alec, I want to go with you!" She cried, reluctant to leave her friend to such a danger.

The jolteon frowned, "No, I don't want you hurt. Besides, you're the only one fit to run this place while I'm gone."

Alec felt a sting of hurt at the leafeon's saddened face, but did his best to shake it off. "I'll be fine."

The leafeon nodded hesitantly, as she watched her jolteon friend and the shiny umbreon prince run off into the distance.

Blue now couldn't believe what was going on, reality enveloping him as he realized there was going to be a war. Between his family, his kind, and Ricky's kind.

The shiny umbreon looked over his shoulder as he and Alec were running, as if he was looking back to the other two territories.

"Please," He told himself silently, "For Johto…"


	16. Calm Before the Storm

Ricky saw a flash of brown and cream flutter its way down through the treetops, in the direction of her home. She had strayed away for a while, pacing backing in forth and sometimes going longer than she thought she had.

Now as she saw the messenger was back, she began to focus and trot back to her den.

She had left Dillon there, who was talking with her father privately in a separate part of the family room. Rachel had to deal with the frightened and worried Brandon, who wouldn't stop asking questions about what was going on.

Ricky's father was still upset with her after the whole truth had come out, and didn't want to become too angry around her so had stayed away from her for a bit, while she sat in the far side of the room by herself- eyes hot and on the verge of spewing with tears.

Ricky wondered if her father was still angry with her, and if the news the messenger would bring from the alphas would affect his emotions or not.

She still didn't know if she wanted to deal with anything messy with her father, causing her to keep a steady trot back to the den home- not too fast, not too slow. She was still curious to find what the pidgey had come back to deliver.

Her heart was pounding; she had long ago realized how serious this really was. To know the news would be nice, as she would soon have the wait lifted off of her shoulders. Even if it was bad news, she was worried.

Worried for what? She didn't know.

She just had to have courage.

She slightly smiled at the thought of the word, _"Courage…Blue…he taught me courage."_

Her smile quickly faded, as she slowed in her pace and shook her head.

Blue- the shiny umbreon she had told herself to forget about. The umbreon _prince_.

The word still a cold tingle to her tongue everytime she said it. Prince Thomas had led her on well, and she had no clue if she would ever find out if Blue was the real prince, or just an act.

She still felt somewhat remorseful over what she had said to Blue the last time she saw him, and that raising her voice wasn't her best option. While some things she said were much uncalled for (and most of all untrue), some of the things she said was how her opinion really spoke.

He really could've been using her- like she had believed before she had come to trust the individual. What if he was using her to drive information out of the espeon territory when they were close enough?

She sighed, trying to forget the mere thought of Blue as she remembered how he said the planned ambush by his parents had been starter.

That zangoose and seviper had lied, and said it was only espeon that attacked them guiltily. She also felt regret for this, because it was mostly her fault than Blue's, since she had caused more damage to the zangoose.

If they were truthful, however, they never would have spoken to the alphas about anything- and Ricky and Blue would be right back where they were: with Ricky sharing everything that had every happened in her life while Blue kept his secret hidden from her for longer and longer periods of times. Would he ever have told her _his_ truth?

"_I really need to stop thinking about him," _She thought, sighing softly to herself.

Relief filled her as she found her way home, hopefully the message the pidgey had brought would cause her to become less focused on the umbreon prince at the moment.

She saw no sign of her friend of family outside, so continued her way into the den.

There, she saw a frantic, heavily breathing pidgey circled in the living room- her father; step-mother, half-brother, and best friend all huddled in close around him.

It was Nick, Ricky's father, who noticed his daughter stared at them with an inquisitive eye.

"Ricky, you're here!" Her father pointed out, causing the four others in the room to avert their attention to the newly arrived teenager. "I was about to come for you. Come close, Mrs. Bridget's back."

Ricky nodded, taking the closest safe seat between Dillon and Brandon. The pidgey- Mrs. Bridget's- breathe had slowly gone back to normal, as she prepared to deliver the message.

"King Draco and Queen Ellie have responded to your message," The bird Pokémon began, her voice a quite bit dry from her rushed flight, "They are advising everyone to prepare for the ambush. They will send out the warning call any minute now, and when the warning call comes- all and any espeon who are willing to fight should gather at the forest edge immediately."

Before any of the eeveelutions in front of her could have something to say about the short message, Bridget spoke up again.

"I'd advise all of you to be careful. Time to time I will travel to the other territories, and the umbreon happen to be very strong. Some are kind, some are ruthless. Some of them won't care if you suffer or die, while some will pity you. I'm sure they're all willing to fight for their territory, and you should do just the same."

Her brown eyes looked all of the five individuals surrounding her down. "All of you please be careful." She looked at them all for one last time, before bowing her head. "I wish you luck."

With that, the pidgey found her way out of the den, and flew off for her next destination.

The espeons and one eevee sat in silence in the same circle for possibly a minute, all fives' eyes on the ground as they thought silently to themselves, waiting for somebody- anybody- to speak up.

It was Nick who took this opportunity, starting off with a loud breath that caught everyone's attention.

"Rachel," The shiny espeon spoke, making eye contact with his mate, "You take Brandon and go to the hidden den when the warning call comes. I will go to fight, and if Dillon wants to fight- he can."

The teenaged male espeon nodded his head in an agreement that he would fight, although he didn't speak a word. Was he nervous?

Rachel also nodded in agreement to her mate's ordering.

"Dad?" Ricky spoke up, causing her father to turn his head quickly to her. "What about me?"

Nick's purple scleras stared into his daughter's blue scleras. He saw emotions of determination, hope, willingness, and anticipation behind the blue pupiless orbs. He wanted her to be able to fight, it's what she wanted, but he didn't want to risk her life.

"You must go with Rachel," He sighed, hoping he wouldn't hurt his daughter's want to fight.

Ricky's eyes widened in shock, as she took a step forward to her father. "But, dad! I want to fight!"

Nick frowned, "I'm sorry, Ricky." He looked back up at her, meeting her blue beauties again. "I've lost your mother once, and you're all I've got left."

The pubescent female sighed, not in a defensive enough mood for her mother as Rachel scoffed under her breath at her mate's statement about his daughter's dead mother.

Ricky peeked back up at her father, still hoping there was a chance. "Dad, I can do this. I promise I won't get hurt, mom's _always_ watching me."

Ricky took a moment to smile at her father, who tried his best to suppress one in return.

"She told me so."

Nick looked into Ricky's eyes for what seemed forever, as he ended the eye contact with yet another long breath, slowly nodding his head.

"Okay…" He agreed, causing Ricky to grin from ear to ear. "I will let you go, but you _must_ go with Dillon and _stay _with him."

Ricky and Dillon shared a small glance, both nodding in agreement with the shiny espeon.

"I promise I will, dad." Ricky smiled, making her way beside him. "Thank you," She whispered, quickly nuzzling her father.

Dillon then turned to face the older male, ready to speak up himself. "I will take care of her, Mr. Black. I promise."

Nick could only nod, still worried for his daughter. Something inside him, though, told him to take the chance. He didn't know who or what it was, but he had a warm feeling to the unknown voice that told him this, and he told himself to listen.

Now, he could only hope his daughter would be safe. As he looked at her, he saw a flash of his old mate, but then saw his daughter all over again.

She was always there. She was always in Ricky, and Ricky would always be with him.

For once in the past few minutes, he smiled wholeheartedly.

Before anyone could say anything further, a loud-repetitive sound broke through the air, all the espeon in the room realizing what it was. Little Brandon could only stare up curiously, for her didn't know for sure if this was the call they had been waiting for or not.

Nick, Dillon, and Ricky all exchanged glances. Nick and Dillon were the first ones to break off towards the exit of the den, little Brandon quickly following suit.

"Dad!" The little eevee called, disappearing from the entrance of the den. It was obvious he was upset his father hadn't even said bye, and he would react quickly and say bye to his father in case anything happened. To Brandon, however, everything would be alright.

"Brandon!" Ricky called, preparing to take off in a run after her little brother.

"Ricky, wait!" A voice behind the teenager called, delaying her early run. She looked back behind her, eyes finding their way to Rachel who was standing tall behind her.

Ricky looked at her step-mother, to the place Brandon had run, then back to her step-mother.

"But, Brandon-"

"He'll be back," Rachel interrupted; her tone sharp and cool. Ricky held back a breath as she looked on in fear at her cruel father's mate.

As Ricky refused to respond to her step-mother, Rachel took the opportunity to just speak more for herself.

"Why would you bother your father by going? By taking the risk of getting hurt?" The older female began, pacing back in forth in front of the younger espeon. "What's wrong with being safe with me and Brandon? You know you're too weak to fight."

Ricky could only hang her head, scared of her step-mother.

She finally let her thought of Blue return, remembering how he had told her to have courage in front of her step-mother. She should turn down the evil espeon's comments, and stand up to her, no matter how hard it seemed.

"How dare you speak of your mother in _my_ house?"

Ricky gasped at Rachel's comments, surprised that Rachel would come close to even speaking of Rose Black that way. Although she was trying to focus on her courage, Ricky was too dumbfounded to speak.

Rachel snickered at her step-daughter's astonished expression, stopping right in front of her as she forced the blue-eyes girl to look at her dead in the eyes, the adult's forked tail swishing back and forth behind her violently.

"You're weak, stupid, pathetic, and useless. Just like Rose Black."

Ricky eyes shot up at Rachel, whose face was just inches away. The latter female laughed menacingly at her mate's daughter's expression, and how much she had just hurt the girl verbally.

"_If she calls you something…prove her wrong._"

Blue's words echoed through Ricky's mind, as she processed it quickly, snarling and narrowing her eyes at Rachel.

"Don't _ever_ speak of Rose Black that way, again." Ricky snarled, her voice sounding exceedingly darker than it had with Blue hours before.

Rachel couldn't help but howl in laughter, obviously amused by Ricky's attempts.

Rose Black's daughter wouldn't give up, though.

She took a brave step forward, the jewel on her forehead basically pushed up against the jewel on Rachel's- who didn't flinch or jump at the gaining advances.

Ricky bared her teeth at her step-mother; this was the closest they had ever been.

"Let me tell you something," Ricky growled, "Rose Black is better than you will _ever_ be. She was loving, caring, strong, beautiful, fun, brave, and the greatest female I have ever known in my _whole_ life."

"Rose Black cared for her family. She was there for them, she_ supported _them. When she had only a few months to live, she spent every lasting _second_ with her mate and daughter, because she _cared_. She loved them more than she had loved anyone before, and they meant the _world_ to her. Don't stand there and say she was weak, stupid, pathetic, or useless. She was _none_ of those things."

"Rose Black died from a poison overload in her body, from an attack her trainer also died innocent for. She suffered, and clinged with all the hope and love she had left. She was there for her mate and daughter till her last living _breath_ because she _cared_. She stayed alive through all that pain, because she wasn't weak. She was strong, and dealt with it. She wasn't stupid; she just loved her family so much she didn't want to hurt _them. _She isn't pathetic, she's better than you ever were, you useless tramp."

"Brandon and I both may not have a true mother at the moment, but at least I had one before."

For once in her life, Rachel was speechless. She made no eye contact with Ricky, as she stared emotionless at the ground.

She had somewhere, somehow, been broken.

Ricky turned, preparing to leave the den.

She stopped near the exit though, as she looked over her shoulder at the dumbfounded step-mother of hers.

"You will _never_ insult my mother in _her _house again."

Ricky, refusing to be there to have pity and sympathy for the espeon, took off out of the cave.

She had finally won.

As she exited, she could see Brandon giving his father one last hug, which Ricky was surprised they were still out here this long.

"I'll be back," Ricky and Brandon's father said as he released himself from his son's gripping hug, "Now, go get your mother and go to the hidden den."

Brandon nodded, small tears flowing down his cheeks. He turned to Ricky, quickly hugging her leg and then hurrying into the den behind her.

Ricky looked at Dillon and her father, who both stood tall.

She could tell they were both proud to be defending their territory- but also worried in different ways. She knew both were also worried for her, and she was determined to prove them wrong, as well.

Around her, Ricky could see other espeon making their way to the espeon and umbreon territory border, where they would wait for the umbreon to come.

Nick sighed, knowing they needed to go too.

He only nodded to his daughter and her friend, as he began to lead them to the border. All three broke out into a sprint, as they too began to make their way to the border.

Ricky looked up to the sky, and as she did she felt a breeze push from behind, then all around her.

"_I'll always be there."_

Ricky smiled at the sky, hearing her mother's voice in her head before looking back down to focus on where she was running.

Although it was more than likely her thoughts she had heard, Ricky chose to believe it was the wind that had spoken.

She felt her mother running beside her, she said she would always be there, and she always was.

Till the end.


	17. The Johto War

"Ricky, are you sure you want to do this?"

Dillon stared worriedly at his female espeon friend, who stared determinedly at the distance: there were hundreds and hundreds of espeon warriors waiting on their side of the border, as they stared on anxiously at the umbreon border.

Seeing as no umbreon where in sight, the female sighed, shaking her head. "Why shouldn't I?" She responded, as she felt her eyes grow hot. Truthfully, she was still a little angry at Blue. She wasn't as upset as she was whenever she had yelled, since she had calmed down since then, but still mad. She was thankful he had warned her of the ambush, but why tell his secrets then? She had told him everything…and he had told her nothing till that point.

It still hurt when she thought of when she told him he had disgusted her, and how broken he had looked after she had said it.

Maybe…maybe he never betrayed her…maybe he wanted to be friends, and her knowing he was a prince would ruin the friendship?

She shook her head, knowing she'd probably never know though. Why did revealed secrets have to ruin everything?

"Wanda and Brooklyn aren't here!" Dillon spoke up, causing Ricky to snap out of her thoughts. "I think I might have saw Mitch earlier, but Wanda and Brooklyn didn't-"

"Are you calling girls weak?" Ricky hissed as she spun on her heels to face her best friend, who turned out a little shocked at her actions.

Dillon cocked a brow, a suspicious look wiping across his face. "What's up with you? Ever since you last saw that umbreon, you've changed."

"You're right," She stated sassily, "I've changed, now are you satisfied?"

"No," Dillon narrowed his eyes, "I'm not, just disappointed. Why would an umbreon change you like this?"

Ricky sighed, trying to control her anger. "I don't know; let's ask him when he gets here." She said, frowning as she began to remember Blue. She felt a tear roll down from her eye as she remembered all their memories: the fun, the adventures, and the friendships they shared. All up to the point where he came out with the truth.

She couldn't stop thinking _about_ the truth…why would it hurt so much to be lied to? Her friends lied to her a lot, but maybe that was because Blue's lie had been greater? Had he being a prince shocked her?

"Ricky?" Dillon asked, spotting the tear that drifted down Ricky's cheek. "Are you ok?"

Ricky shook her head, turning around to try and hide her tears from Dillon.

As she turned around, she thought she heard him groan and stand up- but she wasn't sure until she found him sitting beside her now. As she glanced over to the male espeon, though, she noticed he wasn't looking at her.

She sniffed quietly to herself, small tears slowly making their way out.

The two sat there, neither speaking. The only sound that was heard was the shuffling and small talk going on between the hundreds other espeon around. Although the espeon fighters were trying to be quiet so they wouldn't attract the attention of any umbreon nearby, they were still quite a bit loud. They wanted to stay quiet so when the umbreon prepared their ambush, they would be surprised. They would stay at the border line for as long as three days, just to make sure if the message the alphas had received hours earlier was true: that there was an umbreon ambush prepared to hit.

"You loved him, did you?"

Ricky pricked her ears up as her friend finally spoke, causing her to drag her attention back to him. He still wasn't looking at her, instead look forward. She felt her body go stiff, as she processed the question in her mind.

When she first met Blue, she couldn't stop thinking about him. The whole time they knew each other, he was always on her mind, even up to the point after he had hurt her so much. Ever since the first day he had tripped over her, she still thought about him- no matter if she hated him or not.

She had some of the most fun in her life when she was with him and their memories over one short week, so could it be possible.

_Did_ she love him?

"I don't know," She shrugged, unsure about the answer to Dillon's question. "I only knew him for a week, Dillon. It couldn't be possible."

Dillon dropped his snout, as if he was depressed. "Sometimes it happens, Ricky."

Although Ricky didn't know it, Dillon was upset because he knew she was. He understood know: she was hurt when the one she loved lied to her, and now he was hurt because the one he loved wasn't in love with him.

Ricky put a paw on Dillon's, making him snap up and look back at her: lilac eyes meeting Blue. A sweet smile spread across the pubescent female's face, as she leaned forward and put her head under his, embracing her friend warmly.

The scruffy-haired male sighed, resting his chin on her forehead as he returned the embrace.

They sat like that for a few moments, as if what they were really there for didn't even matter anymore. Ricky had her throat cleared up, preparing an apology for Dillon about her attitude towards him for the last day or two.

She was about to go ahead and get it over with, but a cry from the west erupted through the air, causing her and Dillon to jump in shock away from each other.

The two pubescent espeon turned their heads to the sound of the noise, and over the heads of the hundreds of espeon fighters in front of them they saw it: hundreds of umbreon that were having a stare down with the espeon fighters facing opposite them.

Each and every face from the dark types were first filled with shock, anguish. Then they all soon turned to hatred, as the psychic and dark types faced their enemies with disgust.

"You said if we wanted trouble, we would get it!" An umbreon spoke up through the crowd of dark types, stepping forward to identify herself. "But now it is time for trouble to come your way."

"Queen Taylor!" A male spoke from the espeon crowd, stepping forward as well, "I still hold my territory innocent for the attacks on the Hoenn travelers, and you should be mature enough to believe me. Yet if you wish and hold to your beliefs, there will be trouble."

Ricky instantly knew this was the alpha and king to her territory: Draco Davis. She also identified the umbreon female- thanks to the espeon king's statement- as queen of the umbreon territory, and Blue's mother: Taylor Carter.

"So be it…" A menacing growl emanated from the umbreon queen, "Attack!"

The umbreon howled together, as King Draco instantly turned to face the espeon behind him.

"Go!"

Now everything began to go in slow motion, dirt flying in the air as the espeon all around Ricky and Dillon dug their claws into the ground as they pulled themselves toward the umbreon opponents.

Ricky and Dillon slowly looked back at each other, blue and lilac scleras making contact. The two espeon sat through the charging espeon, as battle cries and howls of anticipation broke through the silent, peaceful area.

Dillon quickly gave a gentle nudge to his female companion's side, as the world seemed to be drowning back to her in a normal speed.

As she looked back into Dillon's eyes, she knew neither of them had to say anything: it was happening. The war that both territories of the east and west had believed would never happen.

"Come on!" Dillon said almost instantly after snapping his friend back into realization, giving her a few seconds to stand up before running into the crowd.

"Wait!" Ricky cried, keeping a close eye on him and chasing him through the crowd of charging espeon.

It was no use; Dillon had left her too early and was disappearing through the espeon crowd as Ricky began to get pushed farther and farther back.

Battle cries filled the air once more as the first attacks of the war took place, as blood was drawn and the battle went underway.

Ricky still desperately searched for her best friend throughout the crowd. As she seeked to keep both her father's promise and her friend's safety without problem.

"Dillon!" She called throughout the crowd, although she doubted he could hear her from the shout of the war.

Her blue scleras searched frantically across the crowd, hoping to catch just a small glimpse of him, but her hopes were soon fading.

As soon as she looked behind her to see if she could spot him there, she saw a flash of black and red and soon felt a heavy weight on her as her back was pushed against the ground. She gasped for air and found herself looking up into feminine, red eyes of an umbreon who was right around her age.

The umbreon was growling at Ricky, her gaze narrowed as she stared down at the espeon below her.

Seeing as the umbreon was too focused on anger with Ricky, the espeon decided it was the perfect chance to push the umbreon off. She pushed all of her weight into her hind legs as she bucked them forward and threw the unsuspecting umbreon behind her.

Quickly standing up on all fours and spinning her heels to face the umbreon, she was surprised to see a slightly older male accompanying his dark type companion.

Ricky felt uneasy with the presence of two umbreon ready to rip her to shreds, supporting the fact that she was now at a disadvantage with two of them facing her.

Luck seemed to come her way, as the presence of her male friend reappeared at her side, eyeing down both of the umbreon who were now acknowledging his presence disapprovingly.

Although she wanted to shout his name and hug him for being there for her rescue, she knew that was not needed at the moment and the two only exchanged a serious, quiet nod to each other.

They looked back to the two umbreon, who stared back with anticipation. All four of them began to charge forward as if all at once, as they were now a part of this war.

oOoOo

Blue's head began to ache in pain as he ran side by side with the older alpha jolteon of the north, the two leading a fighting party of hundreds of eeveelutions. Sure, they were nearing the west and east territories by every passing second, but he still feared for the worst. What if the war had already happened? What if all of the ones he held dear had died? His parents, maybe even his brother, Elizabeth, Colton…and Ricky.

Although he was sure she hated him at the moment, he was still desperate to keep her safe from harm.

"Alec…" He groaned through pain, "We have to hurry…"

The jolteon glanced over at the umbreon worriedly. "We have plenty of time Blue, I'm sure of it." He tried to reassure the teenaged umbreon, but he knew something was hurting him deep.

Through it all the two silenced themselves and kept running through the forest Blue had ran through hours earlier.

They had been running for quite a while now, and it was a surprise they hadn't made it to the east and west territories. Blue felt like it had been days they had been running, and he couldn't take it any longer.

In the distance sounds of cries and screaming could be heard, causing Alec and Blue to perk their ears up in response. The shiny umbreon became worried as he was forced to believe what the noises where: the war.

Alec, however, was positive it was just that. His purple eyes found their way to Blue, whose face was etched with worry and regret.

"Blue," The jolteon spoke up, catching the umbreon prince's attention, "I prepare you to brace yourself for what you will soon see."

The shiny umbreon could only nod, as he tried to carry his legs faster than they were going. His heart began to pound faster and faster with anxiety, eyes focused on the distance ahead.

They began to run down a smooth part of a hill, trying to stop from tripping as they carried on quickly as there was no time to waste.

Blue was the first who came to the flat surface of the ground again, as his golden orbs stared down in horror for what he saw below him.

Below the second hillside he was standing on where hundreds and hundreds of espeon and umbreon fighting and killing each other with no remorse or holding back, as each desired dominance among their opponent.

The shiny umbreon was so awestruck he didn't notice that Alec had made it behind him, and that the jolteon's speech was only barely heard through his state.

"Remember why you are here!" Alec instructed his soldiers, who nodded to him. "We are not her to fight, or kill! We are here to separate the fighting and knock some sense into these Pokémon!"

All the eeveelutions nodded to their leader, all reluctant to disobey him as they were all loyal to him.

Alec nodded to all of them, before turning and facing the scene below him. "Charge!"

No battle cries emanated from the soldiers, as they all ran silently behind Alec and Blue. The jolteon and shiny umbreon took what looked like a leap on the hillside and then continuing running down the hill, being spotted by some shocked and surprised espeon and umbreon below.

Before they made it all the way to the bottom, Blue looked over at Alec, catching the jolteon's attention.

"I'm going to go find Ricky." Blue declared, as the jolteon running alongside him nodded. Alec had heard all about the espeon Ricky while recruiting the fighters, and realized how important she was to the umbreon prince.

"Alright, hurry!" Alec stated, "I'm going to go find the alphas, and I'll need you to help me get some sense back into them as well."

Blue nodded, before he broke off to the right and Alec to the left: as the two finally separated from each other and joined in the war below.

The shiny umbreon was rather relieved to see no espeon spot him out and attack him, as it seemed they were all occupied on another umbreon to attack.

He looked around to see if any of them were Ricky, to see if he could find the blue scleras only she happened to possess. The gorgeous, spectacular blue orbs he loved so much.

He stopped immediately in his tracks when he saw a slightly older male espeon staring him down through the crowd, as he stopped to stared it down with his golden orbs.

"_Great," _He thought in a disgusted manner, _"Now I'll have to wait to find Ricky…"_

Thinking about her made him remember something she had taught him, as one of the words slowly found its way back through his mind.

_Frustrate._

He looked at the espeon a few feet in front of him, its forked tail swishing back and forth behind its lavender body.

_Fidget_.

_Firm._

After calming himself down, Blue quickly got into a firm, unmoving battle stance as he stared the espeon down as well.

_Focus._

His golden orbs locked on the espeon, as they were now reluctant to take their gaze off of their target.

Ricky had taught him how to be strong, and she had made him strong. He would prove that he was strong, and that it was all because of her.

oOoOo

Ricky and Dillon were still roughly battling it out with the two teenage umbreon, Ricky battling the female and Dillon the male.

A loud crack sounded near them, causing the four to stop where they were and look for the culprit the noise had emanated from.

The four instantly looked at the colors of red and orange that flashed on a well-sized tree near the teenagers. More threatening cracks began to sound from the dead plant, as it evidently began to lean with every threatening flame.

"Lizzy!" The male umbreon called to his companion, "Move!"

The older umbreon grabbed his friend from atop Ricky as he ushered her forward, as a last sickening crack came from the burning tree as it began to fall in their direction.

"Dillon!" Ricky shouted, helping him up and running away from the shadows of the falling tree.

The two ducked forward as the tree hit the ground behind them, shaking the ground for a small amount of time.

When it was over, Ricky peeked over her shoulder, eyeing the flames carefully. She was confused as to why there were even flames here, and the only eeveelutions that could produce such flames was a flareon. Why would a flareon be in a war between rival espeon and umbreon tribes?

The answer to her question would have to come later, as Dillon ushered her away from the fire, running ahead of her yet again.

She followed him as they tried to find a way around the tree, running through a thick part of the forest in an attempt to try.

Shadows filled her sight as she began to find it harder to follow Dillon, his light colored lavender pelt the only source she could follow him by.

Without any further warning Dillon broke off to an opening to the left, Ricky trying her best to slow down and turn as well. She broke out of the dark path and found herself on the other side of the tree, although few brawls were taking place in this area. She assumed it was because of the fire and the tree fall that had caused this.

She quickly let go of these thoughts, as she noticed she had now lost Dillon in the crowd again, and that he was nowhere to be found. She took a few steps forward, blue scleras straining to find him in the crowd ahead.

Movement to her left caused her to jerk her attention over and meet another set of crimson colored eyes, staring back at her menacingly.

She however, was more frightened by the owner of the eyes.

Behind the red eyes was a much, much older, stronger umbreon with definite muscles across his body. He was far more experienced than her, and she was at a critical disadvantage against him.

This time, no one was there to save her.

She stood frozen as she faced him, blue scleras not budging to even blink. One blow from him could have the chance of possibly killing her, or if she had luck: critically injuring her.

Everything began to happen in a flash, as the umbreon began to prepare one move Ricky knew best.

The flashed and circled of bursting energy, this was none other than the move she always refused to use: last resort.

The only way the umbreon could've used last resort was by using his other basic moves first, which he evidently have, and Ricky was going to pay the price for it all.

"No!" A voice cried from nearby, although Ricky barely even acknowledged it. She was too focused on the attack that was soon to come her way.

The stronger umbreon let go of all the powerful energy in his last resort, as it shot towards the espeon quite a distance away from him.

Her blue scleras stared in horror, as she refused to even budge from her astonishment.

All she could do was close her eyes, as her lavender lids hid her from seeing the pain that she would soon induct.

A breeze flew by in front of her, followed by two sickening thuds close behind her.

Realizing she felt no pain, her eyes quickly shot back open, looking at the umbreon who stood still in front of her. Instead of his red eyes being locked on her like they were seconds ago, they stared in awe at something behind her.

The espeon hesitantly looked over her shoulder, gasping horrifically at what she saw.

On the ground lay a gray-black creature, sporting now dim blue rings instead of gold like any normal umbreon would have. His golden eyes couldn't be seen as they were covered by his lids as he lay unmoving on the ground.

Ricky's eyes widened as she realized who this was.

"Blue!"


	18. Stay Strong, Forever

Ricky could only stare at awe at the shiny umbreon on the ground. There was only shiny umbreon she had met in her whole life, and she instantly believed it was Blue. She couldn't know for sure, but for some horrible feeling she believed it was.

Although she was only feet away from him- she wasn't sure if he was breathing or not. If he was, he wasn't breathing enough.

The adolescent espeon was still shocked at what was going on as she stood looking at the possibly dead umbreon. She had lost her friend and couldn't find him, was close to basically being killed, and now believed the umbreon she had come to know lay in front of her dead.

The umbreon who had caused all of this behind her quickly broke out of his shock, as he ran past her and to the umbreon on the ground.

The older male had obviously lost all the bravery and courage he had moments ago, as he stared at the dark type below him in disbelief.

"No…" The adult umbreon winced in pain, his crimson eyes tearing up with hot liquid, "No…Young prince, you cannot be dead."

Ricky felt like the whole world had disappeared around her, as her propositions had suddenly become clarified. Her blue scleras slowly found their ways to the umbreon on the ground, and at the older umbreon who had his head down in shame. As she only did something simple as blink, she felt a small, hot tear trail its way down her cheek.

There was little chance there was another young prince, as Blue only mentioned having an older brother. He was a shiny umbreon, a prince, young and still naïve.

She felt as though her throat clogged up, as she desperately tried to come out with a question she badly wished to ask. Her eyes closed in an attempt to make herself stop crying, turning her head away so she wouldn't have to look.

"Is he…dead?"

The muscular adult umbreon perked his head and ears up at the lavender feline, astonishment slightly washing into his system at her sudden emotion. There was no reason for an espeon to cry for her enemy, and it confused him to no end.

Still, if she cared, he had to tell her the truth.

His crimson eyes led back down to the shiny umbreon adolescent sprawled on the ground below him, tears blinking out of his eyes and making his vision blurred.

"I…" The umbreon started, Ricky clutching her eyes together harder as she anticipated the news. "I…don't think so."

A little ray of hope rose in her chest, as she relaxed her eyelids, although she kept her blue eyes hidden behind the lavender folds.

The dark type bit his lip, "Although, I'm afraid…he's close to his death." The umbreon added in quickly, getting up close to Blue and doing his best to help him.

Sorrow filled Ricky, as the feline reluctantly opened her eyes and turned back to look at the gray and blue fox who lay silently on the ground.

The umbreon first looked at the emotional espeon in confusing, before looking back down at the prince below him.

Hope filled his heart as well, as he spotted something the girl couldn't see.

"He's starting to…breathe again."

Her scleras still focused on her friend, she listened carefully to the stronger umbreon as he spoke. Now that she looked at it, she saw as Blue's sides slowly rose up, and then a long pause later dropped down.

She sighed, taking a few small steps towards her critically injured friend on the ground, as she was slightly hesitant to get any closer. As she did, she began to notice a shiny, maroon liquid sprayed over the dark-pelted male's body.

Blood.

She stopped in her tracks as she spotted the blood, growing a slight bit more hesitant to come closer and examine his injuries.

She took a deep breath, taking the final steps forward as crimson eyes were carefully watching her.

Ricky slowly looked down at her friend on the ground, slightly hearing his raspy breathes as he held on for his life. She softly examined his pain filled face, before she reluctantly forced herself to look at his injuries.

The feline almost gasped in horror at what she saw. She could only slightly see the four cuts that were embedded deep beyond the umbreon's coat and epidermis.

The longest two were deeply cut in his left arm, slightly under the navy-black fox's dimly-light blue rings. A small one was almost straightly aligned with the two on his shoulder, as it lay fortunately less deep as the other cuts.

The last, however, made Ricky's heart drop almost completely.

The last, deeply embedded cut was planted right near the left area of his chest. She knew one of the main causes of Blue's critical condition was the amount of blood loss he was suffering, but now she knew that it was also his heart. Was it hit, and had it been injured enough to slowly kill him.

Ricky couldn't take it any longer, rushing forward as she too began trying to help stop him from bleeding. She knew if he bled too much now, he could die. It was all she could do to help.

"What's going on?" A deep voice asked from nearby, Ricky and the soldier cocking their heads to the side and seeing a purple-eyes jolteon rushing their way.

"He's hurt!" The umbreon answered; his voice weak and shaky. There was a definite hint of worry in his voice for the young prince, and it was showing prominently.

The jolteon didn't hesitate to hurry forward and look down at the fallen victim; his suspicions were confirmed as he identified the body on the ground, sharing a small moment of grief for his fallen acquaintance's injuries.

The golden fox's purple orbs jolted up to the umbreon, who he now had his focused attention on. "I take it you are one of the military unit boss brothers of the west territory. Do you know of any critical care centers nearby for your umbreon fighters?"

"_No wonder he's so strong…" _Ricky thought briefly as she heard this jolteon's statement. She was a little uncomfortable with this jolteon coming out of nowhere and helping them, but if he was helping them help Blue- she needed him there too.

The umbreon nodded, "Henry, it is." He shared quickly, "I also have a close friend who runs the health centers that has come here. I know where she is, let me take the prince."

The young adult jolteon nodded, "Make it quick."

The umbreon general- Henry- nodded. He prepared to stoop down and get the jolteon and espeon help prop the smaller shiny umbreon on his back, but was interrupted from a new sound that grabbed all three's focus.

"Ricky…" A low, raspy voice emanated from the dark type that lied weakly on the ground.

Ricky perked her ears up, the two males around her turning to face her. While Henry stared in shock that Blue would call to this espeon (and why she was even helping in the first place), Alec was rather shocked he hadn't recognized her sooner. Prince Thomas had mentioned the blue scleras of hers quite a few times over necessary.

The lavender feline took a step forward, looking down to meet golden irises staring up at her. She felt a hot tear run down her cheek as she flashed a large grin in joy.

"What is it, Blue?" She asked, "Are you ok?"

"Fine…" He began, trying his best to talk through the painful injury. "Listen, I need you to go with Alec. If I can't…you need too."

The jolteon beside Ricky nodded in recognition to her, identifying himself as the Alec her friend had just mentioned.

The espeon raised brows in shock, shaking her head furiously.

"I won't leave you."

This time, it was the umbreon who shook his head.

"You have too," He began, sustaining a small chuckle at her bewildered expression. "I'll be fine, don't worry about me."

In silence their blue and golden eyes locked with each other once again, the first time since the fight. The fight seemed to have been long forgotten by now, and seeing each other seemed to help with this.

"We don't have much time." Alec broke in reluctantly, trying not to be rude. "Blue, you're _very_ weak. You need to get to help, and if this war isn't stopped now more lives will be lost."

Talk of the war brought all reality back to Ricky, as flashes of the lost Dillon and the father she hadn't seen in hours formed a slide show in her mind. She worried for their safety, and longed to know if they were ok. Dillon was her best friend, and he was also young and not as strong as many other fighters out there without Ricky. Nick Black was all Ricky basically had left of family, and losing her father would crush her inside and out.

Her gaze drifted at Blue, who lay on the ground in defeat, pain, and was close to death. She almost lost him already; she couldn't let this happen to Dillon and her father. She also didn't want this to happen to any other Pokémon- espeon _or_ umbreon. The feline didn't want any other soul to feel the pain she did when she had lost her mother.

The psychic type slowly turned her attention to her left, blue scleras meeting majestic purple irises.

She nodded, "I'll do it. I'll help."

The jolteon smiled in great appreciation, nodding to the two umbreon to the side. "You must go now. Hurry!"

Henry nodded again, this time succeeding in getting help to set the umbreon's youngest prince on his back, sharing a small nod with the jolteon leader Alec.

Just as the two groups were about to turn and head in the opposite direction, the shiny umbreon called out Ricky's name one last time.

Her blue scleras drifted back behind her, as she looked at the weak umbreon who was now smiling at her the best he could.

"Stay strong, forever."

The espeon took a moment to think about this, before a grin spread across her face and she also took a nod to the prince. Without further hesitation, the groups finally turned their backs on each other, and proceeded on their journey to complete their goals.

The grin was still shining strong on the espeon's expression, as she whispered quietly to where only herself to could hear her reply.

"Forever."

Something warm erupted in her chest, a new feeling that had never crossed her before. Her hope now bloomed gloriously, as her pace beside the jolteon kept up.

Alec caught on quickly to this, picking up his own pace and leading the way.

"We need to watch out for attackers!" He announced to her while running alongside the lavender-pelted feline, "The less we encounter, the quicker we get to the alphas and get this over with."

Ricky nodded, "Alright! But how are we supposed to get the alphas to stop this?"

Alec smiled, "You'll know."

The psychic eevee cocked a brow at the electric, before turning her head and attention back to the path in front of her. The statement still lingered in her thoughts, as she was forced to think about it and find out what he meant.

It was like he knew something she hadn't yet learned, but what could it be?

She shrugged it off at the moment, saving until the moment would come. Of course her mind quickly wandered to the well-being over her father and two friends. Dillon had never come back to look for her, was he alright? She hadn't seen her father since the beginning of the fight, was he dead? Was her previous encounter with Blue the last?

A horrifying sting of regret stung in Ricky's chest as she realized it could've been the last time she ever saw him. She had never gotten the opportunity to apologize for the wrong thing she had said at the beach, and was hoping he wouldn't die with that being one of the last real things she ever told him.

The espeon took a deep breath in her run, as she tried to focus on the war and alpha situation at the moment instead of her horrible feeling and emotion of remorse.

Many times she had noticed a stray umbreon charge mainly at her, but was thrown off by other eeveelutions- a vaporeon, jolteon, flareon, leafeon, or glaceon. Sometimes even an umbreon would stop them! She could only guess these umbreon, and few of the espeon that were also defending their leader, were part of this jolteon's territory. She hadn't even become acquainted with Alec, but she presumed he was from the north territory.

Ricky shared a small smile with herself as she remembered her mother promising Ricky if peace never came to the land in the next fifteen years that that her, Ricky, and her mate Nick would all run away to the north territory where they would live out their lives peacefully and freely.

Now Ricky's desire to stop the war had become greater than ever- as her mother's wish for peace to the land was important to both of the espeons in any way possible- she would do this for her mother. The dead mother who would never get to see her daughter become a teenager, an adult, never see her own grandchildren, or spend every day with her daughter as she always wanted.

The pubescent espeon felt her legs pushing themselves faster, as they began to burn with the amount of force that was going into them. The muscles in her legs were getting sore, but she was desperate to stop this war and save all the lives that could be lost in the near future.

Sight of a familiar espeon in the distance caught her eye, causing Ricky to stop herself and Alec and point at him immediately.

"There!" She exclaimed, "The espeon alpha, King Draco!"

Relief washed over the two eeveelutions as they caught one of the alphas in time- or so they thought.

They were about to hurry their way over to the espeon king, but sight of another familiar face caught their eye: the figure of a dark-colored creature with shining golden rings and glowing crimson eyes.

Ricky and Alec had barely noticed Queen Taylor, who had been circling with the espeon king for quite a while now, as the two rivals neared closer and closer to each other. Both of the eeveelution leader's eyes were narrowed and teeth bared, as they passed back quick insults and curses to each other.

Ricky gasped at the sight, which was now attracting the attention of nearly every Pokémon in the area. All eyes were now turned to what everyone was waiting for- the meeting of the two leaders of the west and east sides: Taylor Carter and Draco Davis.

Ricky felt something pushing at her back, ushering her to go forward.

"Go!" Alec's voice sounded from behind her, as the jolteon ran past her in an attempt to stop the fight in time. Ricky didn't hesitate in waiting, hurrying to where she was just behind the jolteon, who was now showing his true speed.

The distance between Taylor and Draco was now closing, as the two were getting the latter right where they wanted them. They were deadlocked on each other, both low to the ground in excellent battle positions, preparing for the fight that would prove the winner.

Both the espeon and umbreon began to lean back as they prepared to leap at each other, but were stopped as a yellow blur jumped between them.

"No!" Alec roared, surprising both dark and psychic type. His purple eyes narrowed disgustedly at both of them. "You two, stop this foolish fighting right now!"

Now the crowd in the area had basically gone wild with anticipation. What kind of fight would this be now? To have the leaders of all three sides in one war was amazing as it was, and to see them battle would be extraordinary.

There was Taylor, the strong and enforcing leader of the umbreon. Then there was Draco, the wise and strategized leader of the espeon. Finally, there was Alec, the young and devoted leader of the unbiased eeveelutions.

The three all stared at each other, Alec receiving both hateful looks and snaps from the two alphas who's eyes were full of pure hate.

"You stay out of this!" Taylor growled menacingly, the hair on the back of her neck reaching its edge.

"This is not your fight!" Draco added in, his tone determined.

Alec snapped back at both of them, able to get both of them quiet for a second- although their hate for each other, and him, still showed. "You two are acting like children! _Both_ of you are immature!"

Taylor took a step towards the younger jolteon, trying to intimidate the younger male by closing in on him. "You don't understand why we do this! All's you care about for your kingdom is love and caring!"

"True, but that's not all," Alec countered, keeping his voice calm and collective now, "I also establish _peace_ in my territory."

"I don't care what you think!" The biased female alpha snapped, refusing to give up.

Ricky, who was only a few feet away for safety, noticed this. The alpha's were filled with so much hate they couldn't stop themselves, and were acting like the evil monsters they had become in the last few days.

The espeon had had enough of the fighting, finally making her voice clear and surprising the thought and minds of every other soul in the area.

"Why don't you care about your son?"

The alpha's had turned to face the espeon, Taylor staring at her in disgust.

"I love both my boys…" Her response was low and menacing.

"Well you know what your immaturity has done?" Ricky snapped, upset with her friend's mother. "It's almost killed your son in this _foolish_ war!"

The umbreon was taken aback, the hate disappearing from her eyes a few mere seconds as images of both of her sons being attacked viciously stirred through her mind.

Draco smirked, feeling that the adolescent espeon was on his side. Although when she noticed his sudden emotion, she began to snap on her own leader as well.

"And you!" She growled, turning to the espeon king. "You're being just as immature! Where is your mate and daughter? Do you even know if they're still _alive_?"

The same thing with Taylor happened with Draco, who quickly snapped out of it and had the hate return to his heart.

"Never say that about my family!" The king ordered, "I would never let such things happen to them-"

"Then where are they?" Ricky interrupted, "If you cared enough, they'd be at your side right now. If you cared enough, you wouldn't have started this war and put them in the danger they're in."

King Draco had his mouth open to respond, but no sound came out and he quickly reclosed his jaw, purple eyes finding themselves on the ground. Queen Taylor took this chance to step forward, concern in her eyes.

"Which of my sons was it?" She asked, biting her lip as her gaze flickered back and forth between the jolteon and espeon.

Ricky hesitated to answer, "Your youngest, Blue."

Emotion quickly hit the queen, as she stumbled back in pain, wincing and on the verge of tears. She began to call her sons name quietly, fearing for his life at the moment.

Seeing as she had both of the leaders shut up, Ricky looked around her at the crowd. The crowd had grown in size since minutes ago, and all eyes were focused on her- shocked.

Now she knew what Alec meant.

She knew what she had to do.

"Now, let me tell you the _truth_!" She yelled to the audience so they could all hear, Alec listening closely and the two sulking leaders behind him trying to pay attention the best they could.

All eyes were on her now. They were confused, curious, and questionable as to what she had to say.

"I'm sure you've all heard this story about the espeon attack in the umbreon territory…" She began, "The whole story was completely _false_."

All eeveelutions around her gasped, before she continued on in her story.

"The zangoose and seviper lied, and have helped cause this fatal war we are in now. They are the reason the hate is burning in our hearts, and that some of us have now lost close friends and loved ones."

"I'm sure you also have to say something about the injuries on the seviper and zangoose, and how this whole story came up. I know the story, because…I was there."

More shocked sounds came from the Pokémon, as they began to whisper and mumble among themselves.

"But I wasn't alone."

The crowd quickly turned their attention back to Ricky, furiously intrigued by what she had to say.

"My friends are two swellow birds, who were sitting peacefully with their young and only son, when he was stolen right from their arms: by two greedy Pokémon who only wanted to cause chaos. This was the zangoose and seviper, and the truth to why they had the taillow."

"I had to help my friends get their son back, so I went with them. We found the pair in time, and had to attack them before they killed the taillow in front of his own parents. Their injuries were a sign of _defense_ and a parent's _love_."

"The zangoose could've injured me if she wanted, while I was latched to her arm as I kept her away from my friend. Someone stopped her though, the very Pokémon I had come to now."

"An umbreon."

This time, no one had spoken; as all jaws were now dropped as they stared in astonishment at the espeon. Her story had seemed so real, but could they believe her? Was it true that she was friends with an umbreon?

"And his name," Ricky continued, "Was Thomas; Prince Thomas of the west territory."

Still, no sound came out of the crowd- who were now silent in shock. Eyes were focused wide on the lavender feline standing in the opening of the whole area, the espeon who had proven the truth.

"We were also in umbreon territory," She began again, "But we weren't deep. I only went because I was trying to help a friend, and I attacked because I was. This war is not any of your faults, not even the alpha's faults. It's my fault."

Ricky dropped her head in shame, her tail slowly tucking underneath her as she closed her eyes to hide herself from the silent crowd. They would never believe her, but she was relieved to have the truth off of her chest.

Minutes passed by with silence, as every soul stayed unmoving. Tears began to find their ways racing down Ricky's cheeks, only being noticed by few of the crowd.

Only one soul took a step forward.

"Y-you know my son?"

Ricky slowly opened her eyes, picking her head up and meeting the crimson eyes of Queen Taylor, who stared at Ricky in shock and confusion.

Ricky nodded.

"Yes."

The umbreon queen took a quick breath.

"A-And…you were his friend?"

Ricky nodded yet again, "I was."

"And…you had no problem with him?" The queen asked, "You actually like _him_, and _umbreon_? The _enemy_?"

This time, Ricky shook her head. This just caused more confusion, but what would come next would shock everyone.

"Queen Taylor," Ricky began calmly, "I'm in love with your son, Prince Thomas of the west territory."

Again, more gasps and shocked screams sounded throughout the crowd, and three astonished leaders stared back at the truthfully honest teenager.

"Blue needs you right now…" She began, looking at both the leaders, "He needs both of you. He never wanted any of this to happen, he- and I- want this all to stop."

Two sets of eyes drifted to the ground, as both leaders processed it over in their heads. The both of them were side by side, closer than they had ever been without hurting each other.

Their gaze slowly fell to each other, as the two stared back into each other's eyes. Now, neither had hate in their heart of eyes, and both could understand. Both knew what needed to happen.

Queen Taylor was the first to nod, quickly receiving a nod from King Draco in return, as the two both took steps away from each other. Each stopped after they were about ten feet away from each other, before both turned their attention to Alec- gesturing for him to take charge.

The jolteon smiled with great pleasure, before turning to face the crowd, looking at all their eager faces with joy.

"The Johto War is over!"

Many cheers came from each side, and even the alphas began to smile, even though they wanted to keep themselves distanced for the time being.

Ricky waited eagerly for Dillon to run to her side, wrapping her in a tight hug and apologizing for leaving her. Her father was right behind him, as he gripped his little girl in a tight hug and kissed her forehead.

Nick Black leaned closer to his daughter's ear, whispering quiet enough so only she could hear.

"Your mother would be proud…"

A tear fell from Ricky's cheek, taking a moment to look up at the sky, beaming happily.

All around the eeveelutions began to merge, all eyes turned to Alec as they waited for further instruction. Ricky and her father had to break from their hug and face him as well; as it looked he was leading them at the moment.

As Alec began to speak to the listening crowd, one thought struck through Ricky's mind.

Was Blue alive?


	19. The South Side

Suddenly, the joy and ecstasy Ricky was feeling washed away, as she remembered her hurt friend and the last time she saw him in his critical condition.

Infact, as she looked down at her paws, some of his blood was soaked on them. She hadn't noticed them till now, and seeing them sparked a blissful memory back into her thoughts.

It was the first day they had met. She had brought him down: a weak, naïve umbreon prince who hadn't even seen her on the ground before tripping over her. She remembered how she helped him immediately after attacking him, and how she had blushed when the two were washing up their blood in the beach water.

She remembered the reason why she had blushed that day, turning her head away as she tried to hide her face from Blue. She remembered mentally telling herself that he was different from the others, and that she liked him.

She may even have liked him in a crush kind of way, when it was just a little bit of infatuation in her mind.

He had looked at her, causing her to blush and turn herself away. She was sure he had done the same, but she couldn't have been sure.

It was amazing how in one week Blue had changed- he seemed braver and stronger than he once was, and had lost all of his naivety in the small time period.

She had also never been in love before, and never expected for a week to take as long as it did.

The espeon quickly snapped back into reality when Alec had finished his speech, the one she hadn't listened too. She sighed, but recovered a quick smile as she started to see the eeveelutions merge together. She knew it was going to take some time for them to come together as one, especially the espeon and umbreon of the west and east sides. They had been rivals for so many years, and in one quick act they would now together as one.

"Looks like the war left you some battle marks."

The sound of her father's voice to her right caught her attention, as their blue scleras made eye contact with each other. Dillon was in front of Ricky and her father Nick, and was now turned around and paying attention.

Ricky- presuming her father was talking to her- quickly looked to the blood on her paws, shaking her head vigorously. "Oh, no! That's just Blue's blood-"

"I'm not talking about the blood, dear." Nick interrupted, receiving a confused look from his daughter. Dillon frowned in regret as he took a seat in front of the two blue-eyed espeon, as if he had been hiding something from Ricky.

Ricky looked back and forth between both males, who sat in silence as she went on in bewilderment.

"Well?" She asked, becoming frustrated as she saw no response coming her way. "What _are_ you talking about, dad?"

The shiny espeon took a deep breath, before looking back into his daughter's eyes. "Your ear, honey. It's your ear."

Ricky's eyes narrowed in an inquisitive response, as she was shocked from her father's words. What was wrong with her ear, and why had she never been told or felt the pain of whatever was wrong with it?

She hesitantly raised her right foreleg, running it over the smooth bottom edge of her right ear. She couldn't feel anything wrong with it, and felt no blood even when she ran her paw over the top of it.

"You're left ear, Ricky."

This time Dillon had spoken, his lilac eyes narrowed at the ground for he did not want to see Ricky's reaction to her minor injury.

Ricky nodded, feeling her body go numb as she pulled her right forearm back and lifted the left. This time, when she made contact, she felt something odd. It wasn't the smooth, soft feeling of the edge of her ear; but a dry, rough feeling. Like dry blood.

She hesitantly ran her paw farther up her ear, an in less than a second after starting she felt her paw reach a rough end. She gasped quietly to herself as she ran her paw over the torn edge in her ear. She couldn't know for sure, but there was a notch in her ear that ran along more than a half on the edge of her ear. She felt a slight bit of pain as she touched the torn edges, and the feeling of dry blood was apparent.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier," Dillon spoke up, causing Ricky to stop her focus on the torn ear and bring her paw down, "I didn't want to worry you. I was actually surprised you never felt it. It happened during our first fight with the two umbreon, and the female bit your ear, and when you pushed her off some of the ear went with her."

Ricky grimaced at the thought of part of her ear getting torn off, shivering at the gory sight in her mind.

"It's fine…" Ricky stated, looking at the two males, "It may be the worst out of all of ours, seeing as you two only have a few cuts that should heal. But I guess it can serve as a mark of reason, am I right?"

Dillon and Nick exchanged a quick glance, before looking back at Ricky and smiling at her wholeheartedly.

Dillon stood still while Nick scooted closer to Ricky, putting a paw on her cheek and looking into her matching blue eyes fondly.

"You're right," He whispered calmly to her, "I'm lucky to have you as a daughter. You'll always be like your mother in every way possible. I love you, Ricky."

The blue-eyed girl smiled at her father's words, taking his paw in her own and gently pulling it to the ground. She placed her on top of his, rubbing it gently.

"I love you too, Dad."

The two espeon exchanged a small smile before pulling each other in a hug, happy to have the latter in their arms again. Dillon stayed back at the scene, and only smiled at the happy family pair.

As they pulled away, Ricky caught a glimpse of a familiar jolteon a little way behind Dillon, who was now making his way towards the three espeon.

"Alec?" Ricky asked as he neared closer, "Aren't you supposed to be watching the espeon and umbreon to make sure they don't go at it again?"

The purple-eyes jolteon chuckled a hearty laugh, shaking his head no. "It'll be fine; I have my top soldiers watching things for me."

"Oh."

"Thank you, Ricky." Alec said gratefully, stepping closer to the female feline, "You're words really helped. I know you probably want to see Blue too, and I know how to get you there."

The espeon smiled joyfully, the grin spreading across her face quickly. "Can you take me?"

The electric type frowned, "Unfortunately not. One of my higher ranking soldiers will guide you and two of his friends there. The only things I can do for you are bring you to them and assure you safety."

Ricky tilted her head, "His family isn't going to see them."

"No, they have to stay here for the time being and try to explain some things to their territory's umbreon and to _themselves_," Alec responded, winking as he finished his words.

Ricky nodded her head in agreement, and then looked to Dillon and her father. "Is it okay if I go and see Blue?"

Both of the male espeon tensed up, Dillon more so than Nick- which surprised Ricky quite a bit. Dillon could only simply nod her head, and her father gave her a sympathetic smile.

"Be safe," Her father said, giving her the consent.

Ricky smiled at her two male companions, before running up beside Alec; excited and ready to go.

She gave one last, hearty smile back to the two male psychic types, before waving goodbye and being lead along the way by the jolteon leader.

The fox and feline made their way to the crowd, a minute or so going by with just a bit of small talk. The two hadn't got to know each other much and it looked as if now wouldn't be the time.

"So…" Ricky started off a little awkwardly after the two had been walking for almost three minutes. "Did you ever notice I had a notch in my ear?"

Alec's purple eyes scanned the damage on the lavender feline's ear, eyebrow raised. "I did. Didn't you know about it?"

Ricky shook her head, embarrassed. "Just found out. I was told about it right before you got there."

The jolteon chuckled lightly, "Well, I was just shocked to see it in the first place. I guess I didn't notice it was new. I thought it was something you already had, and Blue had forgotten to mention it."

A small bit of warmth lighted in Ricky's chest, blue scleras looking up at Alec in astonishment. "He talked about me?"

"A little too much," Alec laughed. "I knew you as soon as I saw you. He was always talking about your eyes, for some reason."

The espeon beamed to herself, staying quiet and choosing not to respond as her thoughts wandered to the certain shiny umbreon prince. She was really hoping he was going to be okay.

"There they are."

Alec had spoken up again, indicating three figures more than ten feet away. There was a stronger, older vaporeon that seemed to be carrying a slight conversation on with two teenage umbreon right beside him.

Ricky instantly recognized these two umbreon.

One of them was the one who had given her the notch in her ear, the other her companion. Would they notice her?

Ricky doubted they would notice her, but was now more focused on another question. _They_ were Blue's friends?

She took a quick breath before following Alec over, as the two had now drawn the attention of the three. Ricky felt a little bit of odd pressure on her as the blue eyes and the two sets of red eyes stared at her. They probably also recognized her as the espeon who had stood up and voiced her thoughts, and proclaimed her love for Blue.

"Alright, James." Alec said to the vaporeon, "This is Ricky. Go ahead and take these three on, and make sure they don't attack each other."

The vaporeon nodded to his leader, and Alec gave a 'good luck' look to Ricky before running off to care for other important duties. Ricky hadn't noticed, as she was in a deadlocked eye stare with the female umbreon.

For some reason, this slightly younger teenage dark type was giving her the cold stare.

"So you're Blue's friend…" She stated aloud, her eyes drifting to the noticeable notch in the espeon's ear. "Oh…"

That was the last thing the female umbreon said to Ricky, as she turned around and began to engage in conversation with only her umbreon friend. The vaporeon noticed the disagreement between the two, and made his way back to Ricky.

The older adult male leaned close to Ricky's uninjured ear, whispering quietly to her: "Walk up front with me, it's safer."

As the vaporeon swiftly pulled himself away, Ricky nodded, following him around in front of the two umbreon. The water type- James- looked back at the umbreon who were now waiting for further instructions.

"Come."

The three teenagers grew silent as they followed the vaporeon's orders. He was years older than Alec, and looked like a serious guy. Ricky was even a bit scared to walk beside him, as she believed he looked ready to kill someone at the moment.

While walking alongside him she tried to keep a distance away from the oddly irritated vaporeon, and kept away from the two teenage umbreon behind her. She already felt a little bad that Blue's own friends already didn't like her, and that it could ruin their relationship. Even Dillon had reacted worse to hearing Blue's name than her own father, which worried her.

She sighed to herself, trying to keep these problems off of her mind as she was truly more anxious to find out what had happened to the shiny umbreon. She felt her body go numb slightly as she remembered the horrid scene she had last seen him in, with blood all over him and the ground.

Her blue scleras fell to her paws below her, which were still drenched in his very blood. She grimaced at the sight, but the thought of cleaning the mess up wasn't very important to her at the moment. Even though she wished for a quick wash, since the dry blood was being to make her paws feel crusty and uncomfortable.

"How far away is this place?" Ricky asked after they had begun traveling for a few minutes, awfully breaking the awkward silence that had rose during this period of time.

The vaporeon shrugged, "I don't know. I was given some easy instructions on how to get there, and I'm not native to these parts. I would have to guess for it to take fifteen minutes thought."

Ricky nodded, sure that it had been _past_ fifteen minutes by now.

"It's not like we can have it right next to the battle grounds, you know." A feminine voice spoke rudely behind the vaporeon and espeon. Ricky turned and met the scary gaze of the female umbreon, whose eyes were locked dead on the espeon. "We have to keep it away and well hidden. It may be a long ride for the victim to get there, but at least there's a smaller chance of an enemy finding them here and killing them and the innocent nurses."

The least Ricky could do was nod, which she did so. The umbreon stare was bothering her to death, so she turned her gaze back around, although she still felt the horrible feeling she was still being watched.

Up ahead, though, something else caught her eye. The sight of movement through the shadows of the forest could be seen, which pumped a bit of excitement in the espeon's body.

"Looks like that's it," James answered for her, leading the three teenagers in the direction of the movement. As the group got closer they began to make out golden rings and the shape of umbreon bodies. Soon enough they saw the full forms of the umbreon nurses and victims they were treating. Many dead bodies were evidently laid off to the side, only a white sheet hid them from the world.

A younger umbreon nurse noticed the pair looking around absentmindedly and approached them suspiciously.

"May I help you?" She asked them, tilting her head to the side quite a bit.

The vaporeon stepped forward first, nodding his head. "Yes, we're looking for Thomas Carter." He paused. "_Prince_ Thomas Carter."

The young umbreon stared back at him for a moment, "Oh…yes! This way, please."

She waved a paw for the four to follow, as she led them off to the left.

Ricky kept her eye on every patient she passed, checking for any shiny umbreon. She had come across only a rare few, but she knew none were him as none possessed the criticalness of Blue's injuries.

Then, there was one.

He lay on the ground silent, quite a distance ahead. An older shiny umbreon was tending to his wounds, frowning at his very situation. He golden eyes were downcast on him in concern.

Ricky felt her heart pumping nervously as she neared the pair of blue-ringed umbreon. Was Blue sleeping, resting, was head dead? She tried to walk faster, but it was hard as there were so many umbreon around at the time.

The shiny umbreon doctor's sharp golden eyes caught sight of the blue form that was James, narrowing her eyes at him inquisitively.

"You must be one of Alec's troops," She stated, studying him closely. It was evident that she had heard about what had happened, and probably doubted it some point earlier until now. Her eyes then studied the espeon and umbreon pair with them. "Oh, Elizabeth and Colton, you're here."

The two umbreon stepped forward, worry in their red eyes at the condition of their best friend.

The umbreon they recognized as well, the leader of the hospital units: Claura. Claura smiled at the two teenage umbreon in reassurance, "He's alright. It was a real close one. If he had been here about three minutes later he would've been dead."

Ricky breathed a huge sigh of relief as the umbreon pair Elizabeth and Colton ran forward to greet their friend. She didn't budge as she watched the shiny umbreon open his eyes, and carry on a slight conversation with them. He hadn't noticed her, and she stared at him brilliantly. She was happy to see him okay.

When she tried to take a step forward to talk to him herself, the umbreon doctor blocked her way.

"Exactly what are you doing?" Claura asked, a little hesitant to let this espeon pass through. She hadn't heard everything that had occurred during the war, and it was possible she didn't know Ricky's connection to the prince she was desperate to protect.

"He's my friend too!" Ricky tried to explain, the older dark type reluctant to let the past enemy go by.

"Impossible!" Claura snapped back, furious that the espeon would pull a lie on her.

"Claura, wait!"

An all too familiar voice rung in Ricky's ears, as the umbreon in front of her stopped what she was doing and looked over at her shoulder at the shiny umbreon that was unseen by Ricky.

"She speaks the truth."

The doctor gasped, looking back at the espeon in astonishment. Her jaw was dropped slightly, as she quickly followed her orders and moved out of the way. The sight of the two shocked umbreon teenagers and their injured friend on the ground came back into view. Except this time Blue saw her.

Blue scleras met golden irises once more, as both of them felt relieved to see the other okay.

"Blue…" Ricky whispered, a single tear making its way down her cheek. She took a few steps towards the recovering prince, crouching down in front of him as they came eye to eye.

"Ricky…" Blue smiled greatly, eye sparkling at the sight of her, but frowned at what he saw. "Your ear…"

"Is fine," Ricky finished for him, "You're much…much worse. Don't worry about me right now."

The shiny umbreon nodded slowly, pain still evident in his expression as he moved only slightly. "Is it true…is it really over?"

The lavender feline nodded, "Yes. Thanks to Alec."

"And you." Blue added in.

Ricky cocked a brow, "You've heard."

The shiny umbreon nodded, sharing a small chuckle with his espeon friend. Ricky felt happy again with him, but some bit of remorse still remained in her heart.

"Blue…" She stated, gaining his attention. "I'm sorry, for what I said. You're none of the things I ever called you, and you _don't_ disgust me."

The shiny umbreon felt a small tinge of pain stab at his chest, but smiled appreciatively at her apology. "I sort of am…a liar, you know?"

"Maybe…" Ricky nodded, "But you're still an _amazing_ individual, and that's why I lo-"

The espeon stopped right in her speech, blushing red slightly as she tried to cover her slip up.

"That's why I _like_ you, Blue." She stated, smiling nervously.

The shiny umbreon smiled back at her weak, still trying to recover from his horrific incident. He was going pretty well pretty fast though, and Ricky had high hopes for his recovery.

The three umbreon around them looked at each other in astonishment with how the two individuals seemed to care for each other, and how well they got along. It would take a while to get used to the fact that their friend had greatly befriended an espeon. It was rarely ever heard of before, and if it was one of the two was killed. This was the first time it hadn't happened.

Ricky laid down in front of Blue, as the two began to have a friendly conversation with each other. They had their eyes locked the whole time, as they shared laughs and smiles. James had to leave, seeing as everything was now going well and that he hoped to be able to trust Claura if anything went wrong.

Nothing went wrong, though. Even Elizabeth and Colton had joined in on the conversation, the two still a little hard on Ricky; but when their friend shot them a look they went a little easier on her every time.

Ricky smiled at him each time she did, reminding her of why she loved him. She doubted he could ever love her back, and if she would ever tell him.

For now, it would just be her little secret.

oOoOo

The burn marks of the past were beginning to heal back to normal, with the help of the residents of the land. It was also a way for them to bond. Many espeon and umbreon had come to know each other as friends, and things were different for them.

It had been two months since the great war of the espeon and umbreon- most commonly called the Johto war. Many espeon and umbreon died in the tragic, gruesome brawl, while many of the injured victims were starting to recover over the time since.

One of the most injured was a shiny umbreon prince named Blue, who had to wear a bandage around his scars. He was the worst of all the espeon and umbreon injured, and the only one injured so badly but didn't die.

He had just got his bandages off a week ago, and found it easier to move without them. He was now able to venture farther from the home as his health was growing, and right now that was his task.

He stepped onto the sandy grains of the beach he hadn't been too since the last fight between him and Ricky. He sniffed the air, heaving a breath with the peaceful scenario.

He looked over his shoulder, golden eyes locked on something behind the brush.

"Alright, we're here."

Movement in the forest edge emanated calmly, as a feline figure stepped onto the sand as well, eyes glowing with joy at the sight she hadn't seen in just as long.

"Wow…" She breathed, walking past Blue to admire the place that had been her second home for many years.

"It's been awhile, Ricky." The umbreon prince stated, moving his paws along the sand as he stood idly.

The espeon nodded, "It has." She turned herself around to face him, only a couple of feet away. "You're eighteen now, an adult. I'm almost seventeen…things have changed since our last meeting here."

"We also don't have to keep it a secret anymore." Blue added, grinning.

Ricky returned the grin, before turning her gaze to the calm ocean water in the distance.

"I'm glad you brought me here."

The shiny umbreon smiled at his close friend's peacefulness. The two were always stuck inside his house since he wasn't allowed to leave until today. He had been planning to bring her here, since she took most of the time out of her day to come and see him. He felt horrible and that he was making her do this, so to see her less stressed made him happy again as well.

"I've got another surprise for you, too." Blue spoke up, taking a step forward to Ricky.

The espeon yet again turned around, making her way over and sitting in front of the shiny umbreon. "Alright, what is it?"

The shiny umbreon smiled in excitement. "Well, on my eighteenth birthday after you left, Alec came to see me. He told me the south side was really developing as a real territory and had potential for the future, but it was missing something: a leader."

"We got to talking for a while, and he told me his choice in a great leader. He said this was the only Pokémon brave enough to come to him and tell him about the upcoming war. The only one brave enough to tell someone important to them about the ambush that almost ruined their friendship, but protected hundreds of innocent espeon. Also the one he also saw great potential in for the land."

"He chose me," Blue explained, "Now that I'm an adult; he said I had plenty of time to prepare to become a king for the south side."

Ricky's blue scleras lit up in delight and excitement for her friend, "That's great, Blue!" She tilted her head to the side, a wandering question filled with hope entering her mind. "I know this is random and all but…who will rule beside you?"

Blue's ears perked up as his excitement grew, "Alec said it would only be fair if the other ruler was an espeon, so he said Princess Destiny could be a choice, and if it was fine with me he would get to know her and see if she would be a fine ruler."

Ricky's hopes fell, "Oh." Was all she could manage to say.

"I said no," The future umbreon king stated, causing Ricky to look up at him in shock, "I told him there was someone else _I_ had in mind, and that it was fine. She's an espeon too."

Ricky raised a brow, her heart beginning to beat louder and faster. Was he talking about her? Or did he know another espeon? She tried not to get her hopes up, but with the situation she was in it was difficult to try not to.

"That's great, Blue." Ricky smiled, trying to be happy for her friend. She hid her frown of despair from the shiny umbreon, hoping he wouldn't notice. She doubted it would ever be her.

Blue didn't notice, instead staring at her with excitement and joy. "Yea, she's really amazing you know; very sweet, kind, and beautiful. I never knew I could become so attracted to someone like her, but I did. My favorite thing about her despite her amazing personality, though, is her gorgeous blue eyes."

This time the espeon's ears perked up, her heart beating faster than before. She had never met another espeon with blue eyes besides her dad, and she was a hundred percent sure her dad wasn't the one. Could it actually be here? If it was, why hadn't he told her yet?

Blue sighed, catching Ricky's attention at his sudden change of emotion.

"No one agrees with it, though," He began, "They know she is a great person, but it's who she is. She's a pheasant, not an ounce of royal blood is in her. But I guess that can't stop me from accepting her anyways, pheasant or not."

Ricky tilted her head at the shiny umbreon, trying to predict what he was getting at. It had to mean something.

The prince felt her eyes on him, pulling his gaze up to her and staring back into her gorgeous blue scleras. His golden irises stared lovingly at her, a warm smile spreading across his face.

"Ricky…" He began, a serious expression etched across his face, "You're one of the best friends I've ever had. Maybe I've only known you for two months, but that doesn't matter. You were always the one, from the beginning. No matter what you said I could never stay mad at you, and I always find myself looking at you because I admire you so much."

Ricky blinked her eyes in astonishment at his words, holding her breath back as he took a short pause.

"I love you, Ricky."

The breath slowly came out of Ricky, as her blue scleras stared wide back at Blue, whose excitement was drowning away with each second she stayed silent.

He shook his head, sighing to himself. "I understand, I doubted you would react different."

Ricky narrowed her eyes at him sadly, "No…Blue, it's just like you said. You were _always_ the one, from the _beginning_."

Her eyes became hot with tears, as a simple few slowly made their way down her cheeks. Blue was also shedding a few tears, from his love and what he thought was his rejection. The two made eye contact one more time, as Ricky took a short pause like blue had.

"I love you, too, Blue."

A smile spread across Ricky's face, taking a step towards Blue, who was now standing up as well. Their blue and golden eyes searched each other, as they stared into each other's eyes for what seemed to be the longest time.

Both started to lean in at the same time, as their lips made contact and broke the odd silence in the air.

The kiss was a moment of bliss that only lasted a few short second, but it was enough for the two to know each of their first kiss has been with their love. They pressed their forehead together, the jewel on Ricky's head fitting perfectly in the center of Blue's blue forehead ring.

They beamed graciously at each other, happy to have their secrets finally admitted to each other.

Because this time, revealed secrets would ruin nothing.

In seconds they would move to a warm embrace on the beach, the first place they had ever met. This was a place of memories to them, forever. Ricky had her head nuzzled in his chest, and Blue's chin was resting on her forehead and a single forearm wrapped around her.

Law or not, they would be together. They both loved each other unconditionally, and had found their other half in the latter.

There was the espeon, the blue-eyed girl who had lost her mother at the age of four and was abused by an uncaring step-mother. Then again, there was the jealous umbreon prince who was never trained by his parents properly, and was weak even against another with a type disadvantage to him.

All in all, he gave her the courage, and he gave her the strength.

Together, they would be words unexplainable.


	20. Epilogue

It was six months set in the future, as the land had fully healed and the old enemies were starting to merge together and bond. The south side was still without a leader, and many thought there would never be one.

That was because only few new of the future king, the ones that were happy for him, uncertain about the decision, and the ones that were jealous. The new of the prince's girlfriend had also spread around too, although it didn't come as a shock to anybody.

This was the espeon who lay comfortably outside on the umbreon alpha's yard, resting as her friends and the prince's friends talked to each other. Everything was no going well, as Elizabeth and Colton were no growing fond of Dillon, Brooklyn, Wanda, and Mitch. Quite a few things had changed in the last few months since the war; like Elizabeth and Colton and how they recently began dating, Carly's engagement to Prince Daniel, and the umbreon's prince's girlfriend turning seventeen.

Ricky had always felt a little discriminated against when she told other her two year difference from Blue, and how he was now a young adult and her still a teenager. Being a year younger than him now made things a little bit better, but the umbreon and espeon always stuck their nose up at her for being with an umbreon.

"Ricky!" Colton called to the daydreaming espeon, chuckling as she jumped to the sound of his voice.

The adolescent espeon scanned him with her blue orbs, cocking a brow at the older umbreon. "I don't see that as funny."

Colton grinned at her, "Alright, alright, settle down. Are you nervous about later today, or something?" The dark type asked, tilting his head in confusion. His girlfriend and the four other espeon were now listening intently as well.

The espeon's cheeks grew red, shaking her head to try and cover up her embarrassment. "Uh…no. Blue should be the real nervous one, he's _actually_ becoming a king."

It was true. In the north and south sides, a Pokémon could not become king or queen unless they were over the age of eighteen, consort's included. The only acception to being underage was having an adult help you rule or having a mate. Ricky and Blue had both agreed they wouldn't become mates until Ricky was eighteen, so since Ricky wasn't of royal blood she would only become a princess.

Ricky sighed as she thought this over again, shaking her head. "I'll just be a princess." She repeated her thoughts.

Brooklyn took the turn to shake her head at her friend, "Ricky, don't be ridiculous. You've learned a lot in the past few months from Queen Taylor and Queen Ellie about becoming a princess, and you'll also have Princess Destiny to help you whenever you need it!"

"I know, but-"

"But nothing," Brooklyn spoke calmly, sharing a soft smile, "Do you really think you're ready to become a _queen_ yet?"

The soon to be princess looked at her paws, processing her friend's words in her head. Was it true? Was being a queen more work than being a princess?

Ricky shook her head, being only a simple pheasant at the moment she didn't know what the difference could be. Did the two queens' ever go over it with her?

There was only one person she could trust to go to with this question.

Her blue scleras looked up at her friends, seeing as one of the three umbreon was missing.

"Where's Blue?" She asked, looking first to Colton since he was basically closest to the prince out of the six others.

The young adult umbreon shrugged, "I don't know. Before Lizzy and I came here he told us he wanted to be alone." The male then looked to the female umbreon beside him, their red eyes making contact in a simple glance. "He never tells us where."

Ricky nodded in appreciation to the two umbreon, "I think I know the place, thanks you guys."

Ricky bid goodbye, turning around and exiting the shade from under the tree, but was stopped by her best friend's voice calling to her.

"Ricky!" Dillon calling, catching her attention as she looked over her shoulder at him, "You know Thomas doesn't like being called Blue anymore, right?"

The espeon merely smiled, nodding her head. "Yes, I do."

The espeon began to run away from the small group of psychic and dark type eevees, as she took her way down the five to ten minute path. She chuckled as she remembered a few months back at how Blue began referring to himself as Thomas. He had said it suited him better and since he was now an adult and the future king it would better fit his character as well.

Yet, through all his pleading, Ricky still called him Blue.

Ricky soon found herself in front of Stinky Pete's, smiling as she remembered first meeting the umbreon as Blue recently began meeting with him regularly. The moment only lasted for a few seconds before Ricky turned to her left, pushing her way through the brush that opened to another trail.

The espeon remembered the first time the shiny umbreon prince had ever taken her here, showing her the trail that led him to her so many times. She was surprised that no one had ever noticed it, and why she was alone on the beach for so many years.

The gentle sound of waves in the distance reached her ears, as she perked them up and began in a simple trot towards her destination. She always went to the beach whenever she was down or upset, and she reckoned Blue would be doing the same thing.

Surprisingly though, as she stepped onto the warm sand of the vacant beach, there was no sign of the blue-ringed fox to be found.

She took a few steps farther on the sand, turning her head back and forth and skimming over the beige background in sign for the lost prince.

"Blue?" She called out, her voice breaking through the peaceful silence of the small beach zone.

There was no response, causing a frown to etch across the lavender feline's face, looking back to where she came from and calling again.

"Blue?"

"It's Thomas…" A voice muttered, causing the espeon to jump and look around for the one who had spoken. She was almost certain it was Blue, though.

Only a few seconds of looking back over the beach did she have to stop, as the shiny umbreon stepped out from the forest brush he was hiding in, golden eyes downcast as he refused to look at Ricky.

The espeon smiled, happy to see him, and had her mouth open ready to respond to him. She stopped before any words could come out, noticing his nervous and negative emotion, tilting her head as she tried to get a better look at him.

"What's wrong?" She asked, walking towards him until she was right in front of him. She was hoping her sudden presence in front of him would cause him to just give a little look to her, but her attempts failed.

The umbreon shook his head, "It's stupid."

The espeon giggled slightly at the prince's childlike response, "You can tell me." She responded.

The shiny umbreon finally looked up at his girlfriend, their eyes meeting, causing her to give him a warm smile in reassurance.

Blue heaved a large breath, falling down on his rear end as his golden orbs presumed staring at his paws again.

Ricky quickly found herself beside him, sitting on the ground as well as she stared at him inquisitively.

Blue sighed, "Well, Ricky…it's just that…I don't think I can do this…"

"Do what?" Ricky questioned.

"Be a king," The shiny umbreon shook his head, picking it up and looking back at the young espeon beside him, "I just don't see myself as one…"

Ricky shook her head, "You're closer than I'll ever be, Blue. I mean, how could anyone see me as a Princess?"

The shiny umbreon made an unintelligible noise- possibly a growl- before turning his head in the opposite direction and narrowing his eyes at nothing worth importance.

"You wouldn't understand," He replied, "You're not becoming a real queen, anyways."

Although it hurt Ricky a bit inside to hear this from her love, cocking a brow at him and narrowing her eyes as well.

Although Blue didn't see the reaction in her expression, he knew that she had been hurt by his words due to her silence without responding to him in any way.

The shiny umbreon sighed, looking back at her with his golden eyes. "I'm sorry, Ricky. I just don't know if I'm good enough…"

The espeon laughed, catching the future king's attention with her sudden change of mood.

"Oh, Blue," She chuckled, her tail swishing behind her, "I remember how you always told me your jealousy over your brother being heir to the throne and how you believed you were more suited to be King. Now, here you are, future king."

The espeon and umbreon's eyes met, as Ricky suppressed a smile for her boyfriend.

"Is this how you imagined this moment?" Ricky added, "Did you imagine yourself this way? Why won't you be the brave, capable, strong umbreon everyone has always known? You're a strong prince, Blue. But you'll be an even stronger King."

A few moments of silence passed before Blue actually processed this, straightening himself up and smiling back at his girlfriend.

"Only because you made me strong."

The lavender feline grinned happily, hope filling her eyes. "You'll be a great King, Thomas."

"And you'll be a great queen," The shiny umbreon replied.

The espeon chuckled lightly, "One day!"

The couple laughed together for a short moment, knowing they would cherish this very moment years later when it would just be a memory.

"So, you want to go ahead and get back?" Blue asked, tilting his head questionably at his espeon girlfriend.

The espeon shook her head, a stronger smile growing on her face.

"How about we stay here?" She said, looking around the beach.

Blue beamed, as the two began to talk about their future together. They saw a wonderful relationship between the two of them, as king and queen of the well-known south side. The peasants of the south side would love and respect their alphas. The two also saw themselves with two kids: the oldest a boy, the youngest a girl. The pair would be fabulous parents, and their reign through the south side would be the most peaceful ever.

Little did they now- however- was it would be the exact opposite, but that was a different story.

* * *

**Author's Note**

What's this? A cliffhanger? At the _end_ of the story?

Haha, don't you guys just love me?

So, since chapter 14 I believe I was already growing sad that this story would soon be finished- since I had grown especially attached to it and it's characters. One day I was randomly drawing what I thought a son for Ricky and Blue would look like, and instantly loved him. So...very soon... this story will have a sequel: _The Johto Prince_.

_The Johto Prince_ will be a story focused on Ricky and Blue's son: a shiny eevee named Elijah. This story is based off The Lion King in some points- which you will see if you read the sequel. I was originally going to start the sequel in about a year, but I've already discovered the plot and drawn so many pictures of the new characters I couldn't helpy but go ahead and write very soon. I hope you guys will read it. If you want a sneak peek of a scene from the story, visit my profile and it should be on there very soon under the sneak peek section. Also, if you don't want to keep looking at my profile or miss out on a couple of chapters before you read the sequel and you really want to, you might want to watch me- although I believe chapter one will be out soon.

Also while I have the time over Christmas Break, I'm going to go through this story and fix all my grammar errors.

I'll leave this author note here for a month before I delete it, because if you haven't already figured out- I hate leaving author notes on the story.


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